Chennai: Eight state transport employees were crushed to death when the roof of the rest room at Poraiyar bus stand in Nagapattinam district collapsed on Friday morning. They were sleeping when the mishap occurred. Three staff injured were admitted to hospital and the condition of one of them is said to be serious.

State Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar rushed to the spot and later told mediapersons that an inquiry was being conducted. He also announced compensation for the family of the deceased.

PMK founder S Ramadoss said union leaders had way back in 2005 requested the authorities to repair the building which was old and unfit for use.In a statement, he alleged that the transport corporation authorities had got its engineers to certify that the building was strong and demanded action against those officials.

It was only last month that four persons died and seven were injured when the concrete roof of the Somanur bus stand near Coimbatore collapsed.