News
Illegal demolition caused building collapse fatalities
View(s):The seven people crushed to death in a warehouse collapse this week would have been alive if the building housing it was not being demolished illegally, leaving a wall unsupported that fell over on the victims.
The collapsed building
The Officer in Charge of the Grandpass Police Station, Chief Inspector Vimal Shantha, said neither the police nor the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) had been informed about the demolition of the building in Grandpass last Wednesday.
The warehouse, part of a warehouse complex owned by tea and spice exporters Adam Expo, had been bought by a family member of the family that owned Adam Expo.
“The building was being knocked down in such a way that a 15-foot. wall remained unsupported which consequently collapsed on the warehouse, killing seven and injuring two,” Chief Inspector Shantha said.
He said it was clear that sufficient safety precautions had not been taken and that the demolition had occurred in the midst of a family feud over the running of the business.
Tragically killed were the managing director of Adam Expo, Tahir Abbas Gulamhusein, 51, manager Jayaraman Sujeev Anand, 42, and five other employees: Pandigamage Kasun Dananjaya, 19,, Durairaja Lalitha, 41, Ellappen Rajeshwari, 46, Selleiya Welleamma, 55, and Shahul Hameed Noor Naleema, 63.
Eyewitnesses described the final moments leading up to the calamity and the immediate aftermath. “Mr. Gulamhusein came back to the warehouse after lunch and was making an inspection of the other warehouses and factories in the complex,” one witness said. “He saw the ceiling of the warehouse vibrate and called for the manager, Mr. Sujeev Anand, who confirmed this,” they said.
He said that less than four minutes later, people outside heard a noise and saw a cloud of “grey smoke” rise into the air and the sound of screams. People rushed to help but they could not see anything clearly as the air was thick with dust from the collapsed masonry. There were no sounds of life.
After the rubble dust had begun to clear they made out the boss’s shirt— he was buried in the rubble. When they pulled him out partially he was breathing but his limbs were shattered and his legs were jammed under an iron bar.
Another bystander described how he and others had pulled out five other people trapped under the debris who were alive at the time but died en route to the hospital. Fourteen people had been inside the building at the time but some managed to escape.
One of the victims, Selleiya Welleamma, had been working at the complex for 17 years.
“She was a divorcee with two sons and the sole breadwinner of the family until recently, when one son secured a job,” her niece, S. Priyadharshini, said.
Coroner Ashraff Rumi said a statement had been given by Tahir Abbas Gulamhusein’s niece, Fareeda Shabeer, 40.
“There have been disputes between my brother and uncle over business matters,” she said. “He [the uncle] purchased the building adjacent to the warehouse, hoping to put up a factory. We are all shareholders of the company.”
The Chairman of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), Mr. Jagath Munasinghe made it clear that the building demolished ought to have received a permit from the CMC as it was less than four storeys high and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the UDA.
“Given the fact that they did not obtain the permit, the CMC has the right to take action against the individuals responsible,” he said.
He added that the ruined warehouse was a very old building and unfit for any sort of activity.