Kolkata Warehouse Collapse: No Logbook, No Clarity on Trapped Workers
Rescue operations at the site of a warehouse collapse in Kolkata’s Taratala area continued for a second night on Thursday, hampered by rain and thunderstorms. However, authorities remain uncertain about the number of labourers still trapped under the debris because contractors failed to maintain a register or logbook of workers at the under-construction site.
“There is no clarity on how many people were working at the site at the time of the incident. We are not sure how many are trapped inside until the debris is cleared completely,” said Kunal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime). “No register of workers was maintained at the warehouse. Hence, there is still no accurate estimate of how many people are trapped under the debris. The rescue operations are going on because it is inhuman to leave them,” he added.
So far, at least 31 people have been brought out. Of them, 11 have died, and 20 others are injured and undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital. Locals and eyewitnesses claimed that as many as 50 to 60 labourers were at the site when the roof of the multi-storied warehouse caved in on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday evening, rescue operations were temporarily halted due to incessant rain. Suraj Mahato, a mechanic from Eastern Railway’s Carriage and Wagon (C&W) Breakdown Department involved in the search, said, “We are used to lifting trains and responding to track accidents. But we have been ordered to assist here. No stone is being left unturned to clear the debris and save lives.”
Rescue operations involved teams from the Army, Kolkata Police’s Disaster Management Group, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Fire and Emergency Services, the Civil Defence, and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The Indian Army’s Eastern Command said that advanced engineering equipment, including cutting machinery and high-intensity illumination systems, have been deployed at the site to facilitate rescue and search. “A fully equipped 10-bedded emergency medical facility with medical and surgical specialists has been set up on the site to provide immediate care,” the Eastern Command said, adding that rescue operations “continue unabated with all efforts focused on locating and rescuing those still feared trapped under the debris”.
The Army’s Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system is being used to detect signs of life beneath the collapsed structure. The equipment can detect movement and pulse signals beneath layers of debris, helping rescuers focus their excavation efforts on specific locations. Teams have also deployed cameras beneath the rubble to check for trapped persons, while mobile phone tower data is being used to trace the location of individuals whose phones remain active under the debris.
Among the first to rush to the scene and pull survivors from the wreckage were Hare Ram Singh and Santosh. Singh recalled the moment of collapse. “We were loading a vehicle inside the tea factory adjacent to the accident site when we heard a loud, deafening sound. Our vehicle started shaking, it was definitely not an earthquake. When we ran out to check, we saw that all the pillars had collapsed, causing the entire structure to cave in. We could hear screams from underneath and immediately started pulling people out. One boy managed to crawl out, holding his phone, but three others were dead by then. We pulled nearly seven people from beneath the heavy iron structure; some had broken legs, others had broken arms. We also had to witness how, over time, the screams slowly faded away,” he added.
Looking at the scale of the destruction, Singh said, “The structure was massive. From what we have seen, I don’t think it’s possible to clear the debris by tomorrow. It will take at least two more days.” The warehouse was being built by Behera Brothers on a leasehold plot owned by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in the city.
