Eleven bodies have been recovered so far as massive rescue operations continued at the building collapse site at Mugalivakkam near Porur here even as police said they have arrested five persons in connection with the tragedy.
Several persons are still believed to be trapped under the debris and hundreds of personnel are engaged in clearing the rubble as part of the rescue effort.
Two alleged owners of the building were arrested this morning along with two engineers as police rounded up five persons in connection with the incident and booked them under various sections of IPC.
"The Chennai Police Commissioner has already visited the spot. Five persons have been secured and inquiry is on into the incident," Director General of Police K Ramanujam told reporters here after visiting the spot.
Two women, identified as Sujata and Krishnaveni, were this morning pulled out from under the debris, taking the number of those rescued to 30 so far, police said.
Over 100 personnel from Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services along with 120 others from National Disaster Reponse Force are taking part in rescue operations at the site of the tragedy, which is being described as the largest building accident in the recent past in Chennai.
"Rescue operations are on in full swing. Our priority is to locate survivors. We are using modern cameras to locate them and are watching closely for any voices from within the debris," said NDRF DIG SP Selvan.
Sniffer dogs, too, have been brought in to locate persons trapped in the rubble.
Officials are speaking to those who have been rescued to gather information about the number of people who were in the building when the mishap struck at around 5 P.M. Yesterday.
