Rescue still underway, Bengal CM at hospital: Inside Kolkata warehouse collapse that killed 5

AT to the lowest degree fin people were killed and 17 others injured after a three-storey below-construction storage warehouse collapsed in Kolkata's Taratala on wed. It trapped several workers under the debris.Rescue operations involving the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Kolkata Police, fire services and civic authorities continued late into the evening.Victims identifiedOfficials identified three of the deceased as Rohit Chowdhari, 40, Krishna Chowdhury, 30, and an unidentified man, believed to be around 30 years old. Authorities have not yet released the identities of the other two victims.The injured include Durbasha Mallan, 56, Mani Chand Kumar, 22, Sahid Kumar, 26, Rajesh Ruidas, 25, Biswa Prakash, 28, Bodan Munda, 28, Rajendra Rao, 55, and Ram Prasad Choudhury, 21, according to ANI.ALSO READ | 5 dead, several trapped as under-construction warehouse collapses in Kolkata; rescue still underwayWhat happened?The warehouse, located on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge, collapsed around noon while construction work was underway. According to officials, workers were present at the site when massive iron beams and concrete slabs gave way, bringing down the structure.A senior West Bengal health department official said five people had died and 17 others had been admitted to hospital. Earlier in the day, Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari said that 21 people had been rescued. Rescue personnel said several people were still believed to be trapped beneath the rubble. While Adhikari initially estimated that around 18 people remained trapped, he later said that 12-15 people were feared to be under the debris.“This is a very unfortunate incident,” he said at a presser earlier. "The rescue operation is underway. State minister Agnimitra Paul and other officials visited the spot. I have just visited the spot. The incident took place at 12:07 PM... NDRF, Army, SDRF, Police, and the Fire Department are all working together. 12-15 people are still trapped inside, and the Army has established contact with them. 21 people have been taken out. 18 people are undergoing treatment," Adhikari said. The injured were shifted to the Trauma Care Centre at the state-run SSKM Hospital. A multidisciplinary team comprising neurologists, orthopaedic specialists and general medicine experts was formed to treat the victims, several of whom suffered severe injuries.Adhikari later arrived at SSKM Hospital to meet those injured in the collapse. West Bengal minister Indranil Khan said all agencies were working together to rescue survivors."Rescue operation is going on, every effort is being taken, and the Army, NDRF, State Agencies, Kolkata Police, Fire Brigade, all are working together, best efforts have been put in with advanced technologies, to ensure as much persons we can recover alive," Khan told PTI. Rescue operations continueAuthorities deployed cranes, heavy lifting machinery, gas cutters, drones and sniffer dogs to locate and rescue those trapped beneath the debris. Rescue workers were also carrying out vertical drilling operations to reach survivors.Army personnel joined the operation after receiving a distress call from the civil administration.ALSO READ | 5 die as under-construction warehouse collapses in Kolkata; design flaw, says CM"Deploying immediately after a distress call from the civil administration, a specialised team of Army rescue personnel, specialist engineers and medical personnel are assisting in rescue efforts," the Army said in a post on X. The Army added that it was coordinating with the NDRF, SDRF and Kolkata Police to locate those trapped under heavy concrete debris.Police officials said rescuers were responding to cries for help from beneath the collapsed structure."We are following the cries for help coming from under the debris. At the same time, we are assuring the trapped people that they will be rescued soon," a Kolkata Police official told PTI.Witness scenesEyewitnesses described scenes of panic after the collapse."Construction activities were taking place on the ground floor while the RCC structure for the first and second floors had been completed. The entire structure came crashing down," one eyewitness said, as per PTI.Questions over construction qualityThe collapsed structure is a leasehold property under the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (SMPA), officials said.According to a fire department official, the roof of the under-construction warehouse collapsed during casting work. The official also alleged that substandard materials may have been used.Municipal officials and engineers present at the site pointed to possible design and construction flaws."It seems that the iron beams weren't strong enough to hold the weight of the overhead concrete. Also, standing here, I cannot see any braces which are required to support the RCC casting. We will have to check whether the design of the structure was approved by the civic body and, if it was, whether work was being carried out as per the requirements of the approved design," a structural engineer at the site said, as per PTI.Adhikari said preliminary findings suggested problems linked to the approved construction plan."The project plan was approved on January 17th 2026. The owner of the land is SMPA, and it has a lease on the land in the name of Shambhunath Behera and partners. As per initial information, a wrong plan was initially sanctioned," he said.Some locals alleged that illegal construction activities had been taking place in the area for some time.