Three dead as ceiling collapses at Sekhmet club in Chennai’s Alwarpet

CHENNAI: A portion of a ceiling collapsed at a club on Chamiers Road at Alwarpet, resulting in the deaths of three staff memebrs who were trapped under the debris.

The deceased have been identified as Max (22) and Lalli (24), a transgender person from Manipur, and Cyclone Raj (48), a Tiruchi native.

More than 20 persons were present at the pub when the incident occurred on the first floor of the club. The incident took place at the popular bar Sekhmet on Chamiers Road in the city.

According to the police, while initially one body was recovered, the other two were found later. Both the State and National Disaster Response Forces are at the spot and working on clearing the debris.

Speaking to the media, Prem Anand Sinha, Additional Commissioner of Police, stated that they are conducting rescue operations to determine whether other people have been trapped under the debris. However, sources indicate that this is unlikely.

“We are conducting inquiries to ascertain how the collapse occurred. Expert analysis is required to accurately determine the cause of the incident,” he added.

Sinha mentioned that as the ceiling fell on the floor, the ceiling of the ground floor also sustained damage and fell to the ground. However, since there was no one on the ground floor, no injuries were reported.

While locals and some news reports claimed that the damage might be due to metro wail construction nearby, a senior metro rail official rejecting the allegations told, “The work is going on opposite side of the hotel. The trench cutter worked in the morning but later it was under repair as such work was stopped. It is 240 feet away diagonally. No building crack or road crack is noticed anywhere by the safety officials, who have submitted a report.”