4 die in Visakhapatnam boulder crash

Visakhapatnam: Four persons belonging to two families were crushed to death when a huge boulder crashed into their houses in Sanjeevayya Colony under Kancharapalem police station limits in the city. Three others were injured.

The victims were sharing three portions of a house located on the hillside.

Witnesses said that the incident occurred past midnight on Sunday following a heavy downpour from Saturday evening.

City police chief Amit Garg, who visited the spot early on Sunday, said that the soil had become loose due to heavy rain on Saturday which led to a landslide that dislodged the boulder. “We have registered a case under CrPC Section 174 (suspicious death) and investigation is on,” he added.

Locals said the mishap could have been averted if the GVMC had built retaining walls. An estimated two lakh people live on the hillsides.

HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and GVMC commissioner Pravin Kumar said they would appoint a committee to identify vulnerable spots apart from drawing up a plan to the people who stay on the hillsides. The minister promised that the government would release compensation for the victims' families.

Leaders of the Left parties demanded '20 lakh compensation for the family members of each of the dead.

The deceased were identified as D. Suryanarayana, 65, D. Adhilakshmi, 55, D. Sriram, 22, and D. Adhinarayana, 7. Sriram whose legs were crushed in the incident, died while undergoing treatment at KG Hospital in the city, the others were crushed to death. The injured were identified as Appalasuri, Mariamma and Balaji.