The death toll in the building collapse at suburban Porur rose to 18 today as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu urged the Centre for more support to expedite the rescue efforts at the building collapse site here.
While 18 are dead, 23 are undergoing treatment for injuries at several hospitals and 33 are still feared trapped under the debris, a senior Tamil Nadu government official said.
"I request the Central government to provide more personnel with technical expertise to expedite the rescue process," Naidu told reporters after visiting the building collapse site.
Describing the incident as "very sad", Naidu, who reached here from Sriharikota after witnessing the successful launch of PSLV-C23 rocket in the company of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pointed to the alleged irregularities in the building's construction and urged stringent punishment for those who were responsible for the mishap.
Later he visited the Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital here and called on the survivors getting treated for injuries. Many of the survivors and victims are from Andhra Pradesh.
So far 23 persons were rescued from the debris, including the two today.
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has already announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of those dead from his state. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had also announced an relief of Rs 2 lakh for victims of Andhra Pradesh.
Rescue efforts involving multiple agencies including the NDRF, city police commandos, Fire and Rescue Services and Home Guards are continuing.
