Kolkata: A massive rescue operation is currently underway in west Kolkata after a three-storey under-construction warehouse collapsed in the Taratala area on Wednesday afternoon. Tonnes of concrete slabs and heavy iron beams came crashing down at the site, trapping multiple construction workers beneath the heavy wreckage. Emergency personnel have successfully pulled ten injured workers from the debris, rushing them to local medical facilities for treatment.
The disaster occurred at approximately noon at a facility located on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge, where workers were carrying out structural renovation and concrete casting for a tea storage warehouse. According to initial assessments, a critical failure occurred on the upper levels during active roof casting, triggering a progressive structural failure that brought the reinforced concrete and iron frameworks down to the ground floor. First responders reported hearing muffled cries for help from deep within the rubble, indicating that a significant number of the fifty to sixty labourers estimated to be on-site remain unaccounted for.
A multi-agency emergency contingent comprising the Kolkata Police Disaster Management Group, the State Civil Defence, and Fire and Emergency Services is presently working on a war footing to extricate the survivors. To assist civilian agencies, Indian Army personnel have arrived at the disaster site to coordinate specialized operations involving heavy-duty cranes, concrete drills, and gas cutters to slice through the mangled iron framework. State ministers and Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials arrived at the scene to oversee the response, while the state secretariat established emergency control room helplines to handle public inquiries as investigators begin looking into widespread allegations of substandard construction materials and structural irregularities.
