Firefighters and residents try to rescue those trapped under wreckage of road under construction in Indian city

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

At least 23 people have died and dozens are feared trapped after a long stretch of a flyover under construction in Kolkata collapsed.

Rescuers worked through the night on Thursday with cranes and jackhammers to clear huge slabs of steel and concrete from road, which collapsed in the Indian city’s busy Burrabazar neighbourhood.

Police said at least 23 people had died and 90 had been rescued. It was not immediately clear how many people remained missing.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rescue teams search for victims after the Kolkata flyover collapse. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

“Many of the people rescued have been seriously injured,” police commissioner Ajay Tyagi told Reuters. “Many could still be buried below the debris.”



Anil Shekhawat, a spokesman for the National Disaster Response Force, said: “Our five teams with equipment are on the spot, carrying out rescue operations,” Shekhawat said.

Initially, there was little sign of a coordinated operation, with local residents expressing fears that ambulances and rescue teams could not easily reach those trapped under the rubble. Access for cranes and lifting machinery was restricted by heavy traffic and the buildings on either side of the flyover.

“The condition is pathetic. At this moment no one has any clue how many people are trapped,” said Raichand Mohta, a police officer at the scene.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest At least 23 people have died in the Kolkata disaster. Photograph: Xinhua / Barcroft Media

Milan Sheikh, an injured builder, told AFP he had been working on the structure before it collapsed and had seen bolts come out of the metal girders.

“We were cementing two iron girders for the pillars, but the girders couldn’t take the weight of the cement,” he said. “The bolts started coming out this morning and then the flyover came crashing down.”

The controversial 1.2-mile flyover has been under construction since 2009 and has missed several deadlines for completion. Many of the construction workers were thought to have been living and sleeping on the site.

“We completed nearly 70% of the construction work without any mishap,” said KP Rao, an official at IVRCL Infrastructure, the company building the overpass. “It was a total act of God,” his colleague added.

Local TV images showed rescuers pulling people out from underneath chunks of concrete, with one scene showing a bloodied hand reaching out from undera massive girder. People were trying to hand bottles of water to survivors pinned underneath the rubble.

The Indian home minister, Rajnath Singh, tweeted his concern and said rescue teams had been rushed to the scene. “Deeply saddened to know that precious lives have been lost in the Kolkata accident. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased,” he wrote. “PM has expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in Kolkata and praying for the lives of those trapped under the debris.”

A senior police officer on the scene said that 15 critically injured people had been rescued. “Most were bleeding profusely. The problem is that nobody is able to drive an ambulance to the spot,” said Akhilesh Chaturvedi.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Indian rescue workers and volunteers try to free people trapped under the wreckage of the flyover. Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP/Getty Images

The contract for the overpass was signed in 2007 and it was expected to be completed in two years. Mamta Banerjee, the top elected leader in the state, accused the previous communist government in West Bengal of not adhering to building regulations.

“The concrete had been laid last night at this part of the bridge,” resident Ramesh Kejriwal said. “I am lucky as I was planning to go downstairs to have juice. When I was thinking about it, I saw that the bridge had collapsed.”



“Every night, hundreds of labourers would build the flyover and they would cook and sleep near the site by day,” said Ravindra Kumar Gupta, who together with friends pulled out six bodies.

The disaster could play a role in the West Bengal state election, one of five being held from next month that will give a verdict on Narendra Modi’s nearly two years as prime minister.

