More people are feared buried beneath the debris. (Subham Dutta)
Two people, including a 20-year-old girl, died after a portion of a century-old residential building, declared dangerous by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), collapsed in Bowbazar area of Kolkata on Tuesday.
Sources in the police said that few others are feared trapped under the debris of the building located at 10B, Indian Mirror Street in ward 51.
The incident took place at around 12.25 am. Three fire tenders were pressed into service along with disaster management officials and local
police. At around 4.25 pm, two bodies were taken out of the debris. The victims sustained multiple injuries, said police sources.
“The victims were taken to Calcutta Medical College where doctors declared them dead. Rescue operation is still on to find out if anyone else is trapped under the debris,” said a senior police officer.
The deceased have been identified as Himadri Pahar (38) and Hansa Shaw (20). As per police sources, Pahar was a resident of Ashok Nagar and was working as an accountant of a godown located in the same building. He was going to the godown when suddenly the building caved in, sources said. Hansa was staying with her family in the building, they said.
As per PTI, during the rescue operation, nearby old buildings, were also evacuated and vehicular movement on the adjacent road was stopped.
Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who visited the spot after the incident, said, “It is a residential building, a portion of which was being used as a godown. There are many dilapidated buildings in the city, approximately around 1,200. All such buildings will be evacuated under the new Corporation Act.”
Sources in the police said that the building is a joint property of four brothers identified as R.D. Shaw, M Shaw, A Shaw and H Shaw. They had given the ground floor of the building on rent to a private company. While A Shaw had shifted to Tangra a few months ago, the remaining brothers continued to live with their families in the same building. The deceased Hansa Shaw is the daughter of youngest brother H Shaw.
“The building was definitely very old. However, it seems that the continuous rain brought down the building. The broken bricks were completely wet,” said a police officer.
