The collapse of the roof of an under construction building at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) campus in the Kerala capital, Thiruvananthapuram, killed one and injured 30 other workers on Tuesday.

The ISRO reported that the accident, resulting in one death and injuries of many, took place when a portion of the roof of the new five-storey building collapsed at the ISRO campus, which is also known as the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. The Indian space agency told that 8 of the injured workers were in a serious condition.

The ISRO officials said, "The building was to be used to assemble rockets. Construction work was going on and hence there were several workers. Rescue operations are on."

Meanwhile, speaking at the 19th convocation ceremony of the Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, on Tuesday, the ISRO chairman G Madhvan Nair stated that science should help eradicate problems in health and education. He asserted that science should “serve as succour to the common man”. Mr. Nair also praised the institute for starting a specialized department of space engineering programme.

Mr. Nair said, "Isro has taken several initiatives to use space technology for the benefit of society. Pioneer among these initiatives is EDUSAT, which was launched in 2004 to meet the demands of interactive satellite-based distance education. There is one hub and 10 satellite terminals of EDUSAT project in Jharkhand. More such terminals should come up for live linkages with partnering institutions and making it a teaching-cum- research network."

Later, Mr. Nair, along with CMD G K Pillai, visited the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), and he assured the Ranchi-based HEC that ISRO will use infrastructure for its new projects. The ISRO chairman visited three plants of HEC and was impressed with facilities and infrastructure.