Wall collapse kills 11 workers in southern India

CHENNAI, India (AP) — Eleven construction workers were killed Sunday in southern India after the boundary wall of a warehouse collapsed, in the country’s latest building disaster.

The laborers had built lean-tos and shacks near the wall that came down before dawn after heavy rains, said K Veera Raghav Rao, a senior district official.

One worker was hospitalized in a village in Tamil Nadu state’s Thiruvallur district. Rao said the cause of the collapse would be investigated.

The accident came eight days after an 11-story building under construction collapsed in Tamil Nadu’s capital, Chennai, killing more than 60 people. Police have arrested six construction company officials for alleged criminal negligence and violation of building codes in that incident.

Building collapses are common in India, where builders use poor enforcement of regulations to add unauthorized floors and use substandard materials.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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