Kolkata flyover collapse: Not hopeful of finding any more body, says Army

Kolkata: Army officials, who are working closely with civic authorities and NRDF teams in relief and rescue operations at the flyover collapse site, said on Friday they were not hopeful of finding any more body under the debris.

"The focus of operations is now on debris removal and clearance of the road so that normalcy is restored. As of this morning no more bodies are expected to be found under the rubble," army officials said.

Death toll rose to 24 as the army rescue teams have been operating throughout the night along with the teams from civil defence, police and NRDF, trying to remove the debris from the affected area. General Officer in Command of Army's Bengal area Lt Gen Rajeev Tewary is monitoring the progress of the Army teams closely.

Altogether there are close to 300 Army personnel including medical teams, surgeons, engineers and gas cutters working on the spot of flyover collapse in northern Kolkata.

An under-construction flyover in the Burrabazar area of north Kolkata collapsed on Thursday afternoon. The condition of several of the injured was critical and the death toll is likely to go up.

A portion of the ill-fated Vivekananda Setu, which has been under construction since 2009, came crashing down at around 12.35 pm at the crossing of Vivekananda Road and Rabindra Sarani in the densely-populated and congested Burrabazar area. Several people were trapped under the collapsed portion of the flyover. Many vehicles were crushed or damaged and the passengers travelling in them were killed on the spot.

The West Bengal government ordered a high-level probe into the tragedy that triggered a blame game with the Opposition accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness. Hitting back, the Trinamool Congress said the earlier Left Front government, under whose rule the construction of the flyover had begun in 2009, was to blame for the collapse. The company in charge of the flyover’s construction called Thursday’s tragedy an “act of God”, which triggered fury in several quarters.

“I had stepped out of my home to take a glass of juice from the corner shop. When I heard the loud explosion, at first I thought it was an earthquake and then before my eyes the flyover collapsed,” said Prem Prakash, a local resident.

Another eyewitness said that when the flyover collapsed over a minibus with passengers on board, several private cars, three taxis, two Matador vans and some autos came under the debris. For nearly two hours, the police, fire brigade and disaster management personnel struggled to rescue people trapped under the debris and thousands of tonnes of concrete and steel. Hundreds of local residents converged on the disaster scene and started to extend a helping hand to the victims and the local administration. The police had a tough time dispersing the mob from the spot and the CRPF was brought in to control the situation. As cranes, gas-cutting machines and JCV machines were taken to the spot, rescue operation started. Five columns of the Army were rushed to the spot, and immediately joined in the rescue efforts, with its personnel using their hands to break concrete slabs to rescue trapped people. NDRF personnel too joined in the rescue work.

“There were some heart-wrenching scenes like the one where a person totally trapped and invisible from outside managed to push out his bleeding arm in a bid to attract attention. Two local people offered him a bottle of water,” an eyewitness recounted. However, this person did not survive. Local residents vented their ire against the state government for sheer callousness. “The workers were casting concrete slabs on the flyover since last night. They were still working when the incident occurred,” a local resident said. Some alleged there were some faults in the flyover’s design while others accused the construction firm of using poor quality materials to build the flyover.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was touring Jangalmahal campaigning for the polls, cancelled her public rallies in West Midnapore and rushed back to the city in a helicopter. Earlier, chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee, home secretary Moloy De and other senior bureaucrats and police personnel had rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue and relief operations. As soon as Ms Banerjee reached the site, she took hold of a hand-held microphone and appealed to local people for cooperation. “This is a huge tragedy and I want all your help and cooperation,” she said. On her instructions, the chief secretary announced compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for the families of the bereaved and Rs 3 lakhs for each of those seriously injured.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who was touring the state campaigning for BJP candidates in Purulia district, voiced his anguish at the tragedy and ordered that Army and paramilitary forces be sent immediately for rescue operations. However, BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who was in Kolkata, held the Mamata Banerjee government responsible for the mishap. “This is a clear-cut case of corruption and it must be investigated by the CBI and whoever is found guilty — howsoever high and mighty he may be — should be arrested immediately,” Mr Naqvi said. State Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury was even more specific. “I demand the arrest of state urban development minister Firhad Hakim,” he said.

The chief minister, however, cleared passed the buck to her predecessor Left Front government. “The construction had started in 2009,” Ms Banerjee pointed out. She added: “Stringent action will be taken against officials of the construction company and the others involved.”