TN CM condoles death of seven persons in residential house hit by boulder, announces solatium

 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed grief over the death of seven persons, including five children, in a rain-related incident in Annamalaiyar Hill in Thiruvannamalai district and announced Rs 5 lakh solatium each to their kin on Tuesday.

The seven persons, including a family of four in VOC Nagar on the foothills and three children from the neighbourhood were trapped in a house and got buried under mud and rocks, after a boulder rolled down from the hilltop following torrential rain on December 1, and hit the residential building.

Their bodies were recovered on December 2 evening following a hectic search by NDRF, police, and fire and rescue service personnel.

The boulder had rolled down due to a mud slip on the hilltop owing to the heavy rain triggered by Cyclone Fengal and fell down, crushing the house. As a result, the house was completely buried under mud, Thiruvannamalai district Collector D Bhaskar Pandian had said.

"I express my deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families. I have also ordered to provide Rs five lakh each to the kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund," the chief minister said in a release here.

The deceased were identified as Rajkumar, 32, his wife Meena, 27, their son and daughter, three girls from the neighbourhood. All the five children were aged below 14, police said.

At 4 pm on December 1, Rajkumar realised that a tree had fallen on his house due to heavy rain and when he tried to open the door of his house, a large rock rolled down from the mountain and fell on his house, covering his house with soil and rocks, the release said.

Upon learning about the accident, the district administration informed the National Disaster Response Force and 39 personnel including their commanding officer engaged in the rescue operations.

The efforts of the NDRF were unsuccessful and unfortunately, Rajkumar, his wife Meena, their son, and daughter, besides three other girls who lived in the neighbouring houses, were trapped under the soil and died, the release said.