Chennai: Two persons were killed and another injured when a tree fell on them while triple riding at Kalpattu junction on Maduranthagam-Chunambedu near Cheyyur on Tuesday afternoon. The tree fell because it was set on fire by some miscreants, police said.
The deceased were identified as M Murugan, 48 and G Subramanian, 50, while G Sudarshan, 24, who was riding the bike, was admitted to Chengalpet government hospital with injuries. All are agricultural workers Puthirankottai who were riding triple to Chunambedu when the incident happened.
As the huge banyan tree fell on the three, Murugan died on the spot while Subramanian succumbed on the way to the hospital, police said.
After the incident, local residents immediately alerted the police and fire & rescue services. The fire squad later said that the tree was set on fire and that is why it fell. "Somebody had set a fire in the hole in the big trunk of the tree. Local residents now say that they had noticed smoke emanating from the tree for the last few days," police said.
Police also noted that if the local residents had informed about the smoke emitting from the tree truck the accident would have been prevented
