A three-storey under-construction warehouse in Taratala area of West Kolkata, West Bengal collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, trapping many people under the rubble.
So far, 10 people have been rescued and taken to the nearest hospital, PTI news agency reported A Kolkata Police official said.
“The roof of the warehouse located on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge in Taratala area collapsed at noon. Our officers have reached the scene. Some people were working at the site at the time of the accident. We fear that quite a few people are trapped under the rubble,” the news agency quoted the officer as saying.
Eyewitnesses say they heard the trapped victims crying for help
Huge pieces of iron girders and concrete collapsed during the construction process, involving many workers. Eyewitnesses at the site said they heard the trapped victims calling for help from under the rubble.
“Construction activities were taking place on the ground floor while the RCC structure for the first and second floors was being completed. The entire structure collapsed,” an eyewitness told PTI.
The report quoted a fire department official as saying that the roof of the three-story warehouse under construction collapsed during pouring work. He also claimed that substandard materials were used in the construction of the warehouse.
Kolkata Police, Army and other agencies are carrying out rescue work
Personnel from Kolkata Police, Disaster Management Group, Civil Defence, Fire and Emergency Services teams were seen carrying out rescue operations at the site on war footing.
Army officials were also seen assisting in the rescue operations, while cranes and heavy equipment lifting machines were deployed at the site to remove the collapsed iron girders.
Gas cutters were used to cut iron and concrete, and rescue workers were trying to reach the trapped victims by vertical drilling.
“We are following the cries for help coming from under the rubble. At the same time, we are assuring the trapped people that they will be rescued soon,” a member of the Kolkata Police Disaster Management Group told PTI.
The control room numbers – 1070, 8697981070, 033-22143526/22535185 – were opened for the Disaster Management Group at the state secretariat following the incident.
BJP minister blames TMC
Some local residents claimed that large-scale illegal construction activities had been carried out in the area for some time.
“This is all illegal, which was created when TMC was in power. We will definitely look into the causes of the accident and whether there were any violations. “But the priority now is to save as many victims as possible,” Minister Indranil Khan said.
West Bengal Urban Development Minister Agnimitra Paul and Kolkata Municipal Commissioner Smita Pandey also rushed to the spot. BJP leader Rakesh Singh reached the venue earlier.
