Kolkata flyover collapse | Fusion - WeRIndia

An under-construction flyover has collapsed yesterday in Kolkata on a congested road intersection. It was found that at least 18 people were killed and 60 more were injured yesterday. Many others got trapped under the collapsed debris too.

The builder of the flyover described the collapse as an “act of God” and he received major backlash for that comment. At the time of publishing this article, the death toll is at 22. A high level probe has been ordered by the West Bengal government to find out the reason behind the tragedy. The opposition party has accused the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness for the tragedy. The Trinamool Congress said that the flyover’s construction began during the Left Front government and that they were responsible for the collapse.

According to the police, 18 people died in the tragedy at the Burrabazar area. This area has the largest wholesale market in the city. The injured were rushed to the nearby hospitals.

Among the injured, there were two policeman and one traffic sergeant. The state officials said that so far 62 people were found to be injured. There were also many others expected to be trapped under the debris.

Panduranga Rao of the Hyderabad-based IVRCL Construction Company involved with construction of the flyover commented that it is nothing but an act of God.

A case against the company has been filed under section 304,308 and 407 of the IPC. The police sealed the local office of the company. A high level inquiry has been ordered by the Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee.

The CCTV footage showed people, cars, autorickshaws and hawkers buried under the collapsed structure. Some of those who tried to flee were also trapped. The footage even showed a horrifying bloodied hand from under a trapped rock asking for help. Many people around tried help the survivors by handing over water bottles those trapped under debris. The helpline number for Kolkata flyover collapse is 1070.

Image credit: Flyover image by Magiceye is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

Image Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/magiceye/3761326435/