Chaos in Kolkata as bridge collapses
Vehicles are seen stuck after a section of Majerhat Bridge collapsed in Kolkata on Tuesday. A section of a 50- year- old bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road collapsed on Tuesday evening, killing one person and injuring 21 people, besides trapping several people and crushing many vehicles. Unconfirmed reports said that the death toll could rise to five. Five teams of the NDRF have been sent to Kolkata for rescue operations. The bridge collapse hit traffic movement to and from vast areas of the city.
Two years after the underconstruction Vivekananda Flyover's collapse in north Kolkata claiming more than two dozen lives, another disaster struck the city on Tuesday afternoon when a portion of Majherhat Bridge at Taratola collapsed reviving the horror and exposing the lack of maintenance once again. While unconfirmed sources put the death toll at five, chief minister Mamata Banerjee confirmed the death of one person only.
The death toll is feared to rise however. 20 persons have been injured in the accident. Four teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the search and rescue operation following a plea by the Mamata Banerjee government. Three columns of the Indian Army soldiers have also been put on stand- by mode, according to sources in the Eastern Command headquarters at the Fort William.
Expressing his grief over the accident Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “The collapse of a part of a bridge in Kolkata is deeply unfortunate. My thoughts are with the families of the victims. I pray that those who are injured recover at the earliest.” The ill- fated bridge passes over the circular railway network and a canal. A heavy downpour lashed the city barely an hour before the disaster which took place at around 4.40 pm.
A minibus, five cars including the one of to a judge at a city court and three two- wheelers were passing through the bridge. All the vehicles fell down as a large portion of the bridge got dislodged. With a deafening sound the collapsed part fell diagonally into the canal and on some huts where a group of over construction workers was put up for the nearby Joka- BBD Bag metro railway project. Several people fell trapped.
A signal post on the railway track was also damaged. Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar and other officers rushed to the spot with large contingent of police personnel. Kolkata Mayor and fire and emergency services Sovan Chatterjee also visited the spot. The fire brigade, disaster management group and civil defence personnel jumped to the search and rescue operations.
According to the Kolkata Police, 21 injured persons were rescued. Among them 11 were admitted to SSKM Hospital while 10 others at CMRI. Later one of the injured, Soumen Bag of Sealpara in Behala, died at SSKM Hospital. But the rescue personnel suspect of more people still lying trapped under the collapsed portion. A survivor, Sisir Chakraborty, recalled, “I was reading a magazine while travelling in my car.”
He said, “Suddenly I felt a massive jerk before finding a long queue of cars ahead of mine.”