The rescue work has continued through the night and is still being done in search of any trapped men.
A section of a 50-year-old bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata collapsed Tuesday evening, snuffing out one life, trapping several people and crushing many vehicles, police said.
Rescue work continued through out the night and on Wednesday morning also. The entire focus is on removing the debris to find out whether some people are trapped inside it. According to reports, three casual workers who were associated with Metro construction in the area can't be traced. One of them used to cook for the workers busy in metro construction. There are some unconfirmed reports that some voices have been heard from inside the debris late Tuesday night.
One part of the broken bridge has been completely sanitised and no person have been found. The NDRF and other groups are now focussing on another side of the bridge where one shanty is feared to be buried. One person was killed and 31 were injured when Majerhat bridge in the crowded Alipore area caved in around 4.45 pm during rush hour. It runs over the Majerhat Railway Station and connects the city centre with the heavily populated Behala, vast areas of the southwest suburbs and neighbouring South 24 Parganas district. The deceased has been identified as Soumen Bag, a resident of Thakurpukur. Bag, in his late 20s, was returning home from College Street in central Kolkata after buying some books when the incident took place, according to the police.
Among the 31 injured, condition of 4 people are set to be very critical.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is now in Darjeeling, said that rescue work was almost over and only a concrete slab remains to be cut to find out whether any person was trapped there. She said there was a hut under the bridge and some labourers engaged in metro rail construction work used to stay. "Had they been there during the time of accident, an unfortunate thing might have happened," she said. Banerjee said that thousands of people pass through the area and the government has to probe the accident.
"A probe will be done by a committee headed by Chief Secretary Malay De to find out the cause of the collapse. Action will be taken against those whose negligence caused the accident. No one will be spared," she said. She also announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the family of the dead and Rs 50,00 each to the injured.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the incident as "deeply unfortunate" and hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured. Governor K N Tripathi, who visited the site, described it as "a big disaster". "I have come to see the rescue work. It is a big disaster. I heard that maintenance of the bridge is entrusted with the PWD and the railways. The matter required to be enquired," he told reporters.
NDRF DG Sanjay Kumar said earthmovers are being used for clearing the area. "We have to take into account the safety aspect while clearing the debris", he said.
NDRF personnel have engaged sniffer dogs to trace any person trapped under the debris. The 450 metre-long bridge was built in early sixties and maintained by PWD, a member of mayor-in-council in the city municipal corporation said.
With PTI inputs
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