At least five people were killed and 17 others injured after a three-storey under-construction warehouse collapsed in Kolkata's Taratala on Wednesday. Rescue operations involving the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Kolkata Police, fire services and civic authorities continued late into the evening.
The injured include Durbasha Mallan, 56, Mani Chand Kumar, 22, Sahid Kumar, 26, Rajesh Ruidas, 25, Biswa Prakash, 28, Bodan Munda, 28, Rajendra Rao, 55, and Ram Prasad Choudhury, 21, according to ANI.
Rescue personnel said several people were still believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. While Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari initially estimated that around 18 people remained trapped, he later said that 12-15 people were feared to be under the debris.
Authorities deployed cranes, heavy lifting machinery, gas cutters, drones and sniffer dogs to locate and rescue those trapped beneath the debris. Rescue workers were also carrying out vertical drilling operations to reach survivors.
Army personnel joined the operation after receiving a distress call from the civil administration. Police officials said rescuers were responding to cries for help from beneath the collapsed structure.
