Balcony collapse kills woman

CHENNAI: A 49-year-old woman died and three others were injured after the second floor balcony of their building collapsed at Manali New Town on Thursday. The victim M Nayagam alias Kattammal, who worked as a domestic help, lived with her married daughter Devi on the third floor of a Tamil Nadu Housing Board building at Manali New Town. Around 8.30 am, after completing her chores, Nayagam was sitting on the ground floor of her approximately 25-year-old building, talking to her neighbours, when the incident occurred, said Investigating Officer Jayakumar.Meanwhile, another third floor resident S Chitra (28) was coming  down the staircase with her daughters Dakshini (8) and Meera (9) to drop them off at school. As the trio took a turn at the second floor, the balcony suddenly collapsed and they fell to the ground. Nayagam, who was caught under the falling debris, sustained severe injuries to  her head and was rushed to hospital, where she was declared ‘brought dead’. On receiving information, Manali New Town sub-inspector Jayakumar and his team arrived at the spot and conducted an inquiry. The body was sent to KMCH for an autopsy, while the injured mother and her two daughters were admitted in hospital.