[1]Road users on the busy Vadapalani-Koyambedu stretch had a miraculous escape on Thursday evening after huge iron scaffolding erected to support an arm of a concrete pillar collapsed.
It was fortunate no motorist was moving beneath the arm when it collapsed. The accident disturbed vehicle flow on the stretch already facing bottlenecks due to ongoing metro works.
“Around 2.45 pm, we heard a loud noise. We ran out of our house and found motorcyclists stopping their vehicles in the middle of the road. Then we found a massive iron structure hanging and dust engulfing the stem of the pillar,” recalled area resident Ms Latha Sethuraman.
Chellamuthu, salesman of a furniture shop located 50 meters away from the pillar, said, “We rushed as soon as we heard the noise. We advised people not to stand close to the scaffolding,” he added. Cops from Vadapalani police station, a stone’s throw away, arrived and cordoned off the area.
Later, General manager (construction), Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), Mr Somasundaram arrived and inspected the collapsed pier arm. Pointing out that the welding in the pier arm had given away leading to its fall, Mr Somasundaram assured that they would immediately double-check all welds before proceeding with the construction.
He also assured to replace the broken arm and resume construction.
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