Kolkata, June 24: A massive rescue operation is underway in west Kolkata after a three-storey under-construction warehouse collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, leaving several workers trapped beneath the wreckage. Emergency responders have successfully pulled 10 injured individuals from the rubble and transported them to a nearby medical facility for immediate treatment.
The structural failure occurred during routine casting work at the Transport Depot Road site near Brace Bridge in the Taratala area. Massive pieces of concrete and heavy iron beams crumbled instantly, catching the laborers on-site completely by surprise.
“Construction activities were taking place on the ground floor while the RCC structure for the first and second floors had been completed,” an eyewitness stated while describing the moment the entire structure came crashing down.
Personnel from the Kolkata Police, Disaster Management Group, civil defence, and fire services are working on a war footing alongside Army officials to clear the site. Teams are deploying cranes, heavy lifting machinery, and gas cutters, while utilizing vertical drilling techniques to establish contact with survivors.
“We are following the cries for help coming from under the debris,” a member of the Kolkata Police disaster management group affirmed. “At the same time, we are assuring the trapped people that they will be rescued soon.”
A fire department official declared that an initial assessment indicates substandard materials may have been utilized during the warehouse construction. In response to the crisis, the state secretariat has established dedicated emergency control room lines to streamline coordination and assist affected families.
The administration has shifted its immediate focus toward saving lives while acknowledging complaints from local residents regarding unauthorized building activities in the zone.
“We will definitely look into the causes of the accident and whether there were any irregularities,” Minister Indranil Khan asserted upon visiting the scene. “But right now, the priority is to rescue as many victims as possible.”
