Kolkata: Five workers perished, and around 20 others were rescued and hospitalised after a three-storey under-construction warehouse collapsed in Kolkata’s Taratala area Wednesday, prompting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to order a halt to all construction projects approved under the erstwhile TMC regime within the city’s civic body area till July 31.
About 15 more workers still remained trapped under the massive debris of concrete and steel at the accident site at the time of filing of this report “ more than nine hours after the disaster struck officials said, sparking apprehensions of a further rise in death toll, even as rescue efforts were underway in full swing.
Officials said the collapsed warehouse is a private leasehold property under the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.
Three people, a construction site supervisor and two labour suppliers, were arrested.
Police said more people, including the lease holder, construction company owners and plan sanctioning officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), were under the scanner.
The CM, who visited the site, said that “faulty” construction plans of the warehouse received sanction from the KMC January 17 this year, during the TMC regime.
“What I saw convinced me that the collapse did not take place on account of the rains or possible soft soil on which the construction was taking place. It was because of a faulty structural design in which the iron beams weren’t able to take the load of concrete and crumbled to the ground,” Adhikari said.
“I have directed the KMC commissioner and the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department to stop work at all under-construction projects approved by the previous government, especially commercial buildings, including projects where permission was granted after filling up water bodies. They will undergo an audit. Construction work at such sites will remain suspended till July 31,” he said.
Work can resume at the sites from August 1, subject to their passing the scrutiny, Adhikari said.
The audit would subsequently be extended to the Howrah and Bidhannagar municipal areas, he said.
The CM said the audit would be conducted by a multi-agency team comprising officials from the Public Works Department, Civil Defence, Fire Services, Kolkata Police and the KMC.
“The team will function under the guidance of the chief secretary. It will examine site plans, building plans and conduct spot inspections before submitting its report,” he said.
Adhikari said he would declare penal measures against the Taratala builder company and compensation to the victims Thursday in the assembly, which is currently in session.
The CM also took to social media to express his condolences to the bereaved families and visited the hospital to meet the injured.
Coordinated rescue efforts were being made by state and central agencies, including the Army at the warehouse.
All rescued individuals were admitted to the Trauma Care Centre at the state-run SSKM Hospital, where three remain in critical condition, hospital authorities said.
As the day progressed, relatives of the victims, including those of the missing, reached the ground zero of tragedy and the hospital. Their wails of anguish for their near ones shattered the evening air.
The roof of the warehouse located on the Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge in the Taratala area caved in at around noon. Several people were working at the site at the time of the incident, a Kolkata Police officer said.
Massive chunks of iron beams and concrete crumbled, burying the workers.
Eyewitnesses at the site said they heard trapped victims crying for help from beneath the debris.
“Construction activities were taking place on the ground floor while the RCC structure for the first and second floors had been completed. The entire structure came crashing down,” an eyewitness said.
“The Army has already established contact with those who still remain trapped,” Adhikari said, amid estimates that, given the large blocks of concrete that still have to be removed, the rescue operations could continue for a formidable period of time, stretching all the way up to Thursday.
According to a fire department official, the roof of the three-storey under-construction warehouse collapsed during casting work. He also alleged that substandard materials were being used.
Personnel of the Kolkata Police, disaster management teams, civil defence, and fire and emergency services personnel began search and rescue operations at the site on a war footing.
Army officials also aided the salvage mission, while cranes and heavy equipment lifting machinery were deployed at the site to remove the collapsed iron beams and large chunks of hardened concrete.
Gas cutters were used to cut through the rubble and build tunnels while simultaneous efforts were made to reach the trapped victims by means of vertical drilling.
Sniffer dogs and overhead drones were deployed by the NDRF team to detect possible signs of life underneath the debris.
“We are following the cries for help coming from under the debris. At the same time, we are assuring the trapped people that they will be rescued soon,” a Kolkata Police official said.
“Deploying immediately after a distress call from the civil administration, a specialised team of army rescue personnel, specialist engineers and medical personnel are assisting in rescue efforts,” the Army posted on X.
Civil engineers said that there was prima facie evidence of design and construction flaws that may have led to the collapse.
“It seems that the iron beams weren’t strong enough to hold the weight of the overhead concrete. Also, standing here, I cannot see any braces which are required to support the RCC casting. We will have to check whether the design of the structure was approved by the civic body and, if it was, whether work was being carried out as per the requirements of the approved design,” a structural engineer present at the spot said.
