9 killed in balcony collapse

Kadapa: Eight women and a girl aged seven years were killed and nine others sustained serious injuries when the balcony of a house in Navabpet of Mylavaram mandal collapsed on Tuesday while they were watching the funeral ceremony of a youth, Sanjivarayudu.

He was killed in a road accident involving a tipper near Dalmiya Factory on Monday night. The balcony collapse is attributed to overcrowding of onlookers and soaking of the roof in the rain which lashed on Monday. The victims were identified as Peddakka(28), her daughter Namita (7), Sanjamma (60), Neelangi Rajamma (47), Bhoopati Gurramma(50), Rodda Venkatamma(65), Sanjamma(45), all belonging to Navabpet, and Maddi Maremma(58) of Ponnampalle village. Another woman, of the three seriously injured, died while being shifted to a hospital in Kurnool. The condition of another is said to be serious. People present at the spot immediately took up debris-clearing work to rescue the victims. While three women died on the spot, five others succumbed on the way to the Jammalamadugu Government Hospital. Loud wailings of the victims’ family members and their relatives were heard. A pall of gloom descended on the village. Jammalamadugu RDO Raghunath Reddy, Additional SP Appala Naidu, along with other officials, rushed to the spot on learning about the mishap.