Scores of students and staff of Government Backward Classes Hostel for male college students at Sathamangalam here had a miraculous escape when a major portion of the concrete ceiling of the dining hall came down crashing on Sunday late evening.
No one was injured in the incident that occurred around 6.30 p.m. The dilapidated dining hall, which was said to have been constructed in the late 1960s, had not been in proper use for nearly three years, said hostel warden P. Sridhar. Only the kitchen was functioning in the hall.
“As it was drizzling for long since Saturday, the concrete structure got weakened. A huge beam that was holding the ceiling, measuring some 15 feet by 10 feet, gave way and a major portion of the ceiling collapsed within seconds,” a student said.
Since the dining hall was not in use, the 125 students staying in the hostel had been taking food from the kitchen to their rooms.
The warden said that the hostel had an annex building that had not been put to use due to water shortage. “We will take efforts to move the kitchen to that building,” he added.