On Thursday an under-construction flyover collapsed on Rabindra Sarani- KK Tagore street in Kolkata . In the tragedy at least 15 people died while more than 70 were injured.
The incident happened at around noon at the rushy Rabindra Sarani K K Tagore Street crossing, near Burrabazar, the trading hub and one of the most congested areas in the city. A number of hawkers/workers operate under the flyover which is also used for parking several vehicles
The Vivekananda flyover has been face out issues since the operations began in December 2009. The construction is already 1 year late and as of March 2016, over 25 percent of the work was still pending.The flyover is in hub of the wholesale market for garments, spices and plastics, BurraBazar, and thousands of people who reside in the area, are linked with the market.
Several passenger vehicles, including a bus, were trapped under the debris. Rescuers brought in huge cranes to clear the debris and save the injured. NDRF personnel were also rushed to the site to to assist in the rescue operations.
A 100-metre section crashed down suddenly on a crowded street in lunchtime, crushing pedestrians, many cars and other vehicles under huge concrete slabs and metal. The death toll may be increase as scores of people inside vehicles were trapped under the collapsed bridge.
Many People called this disaster an “act of God”, while an FIR has been lodged against the local officials of the company.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said “stringent action” will be taken against the owners of the company assigned to construct the bridge, connecting the central part of the city to the north.
The Army was called in. The National Disaster Response Force deployed five of its teams.Specialist rescue teams armed with concrete and metal cutters, drilling machines, sensors to detect life and sniffer dogs arrived around 2 p.m. But many of those engaged in the rescue appeared to be ordinary people who were seen trying to pull away concrete slabs with their bare hands.Workers struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar.
“We have deployed five columns of personnel along with a team of engineers. A medical team from the Command Hospital is also at the spot,” Ministry of Defence spokesperson Wing Commander S. S. Birdi said.
A desperate search for Family members
Relatives of injured in the flyover collapse in Kolkata on Thursday were desperate as the near by “Marwari Relief Society” and “Medical College and Hospital”, where the injured and dead were taken could not provide any information about their Family members.
A Senior doctor said most of the people came with injuries on their head or upper parts of the body. Many people were seen desperately looking for their injured relatives. Several relatives of those who died did not know where the bodies were.
