Kamal Haasan declares aid after 3 die on sets of his movie

A day after three people were killed and nine sustained injuries when a crane came crashing down on the sets of Kamal Haasan’s under-production film Indian 2 , the actor announced ₹1 crore in financial assistance to families of the victims. The assistant director and two technicians died when the crane used to erect sets snapped at a film city on the outskirts of Chennai late on Wednesday.

“We are extremely saddened with the unfortunate accident (that) happened on the sets of Indian 2 yesterday. Though I have met and crossed many accidents, this mishap is very horrific. I have lost three of my colleagues,” Hassan wrote in a Twitter post. “More than my pain, the grief of the family who lost them will be manifold. I take part in their grief as one of them.”

Hassan said he and the movie’s director, Shankar, escaped death by “a whisker”.

“We just escaped death by a whisker. Just four seconds before the director and camera man moved away and I was also standing near them with the heroine. If I had gone nearer either way, today someone else would be speaking to you. Accidents are like a tsunami...,” the 65-year-old actor said.