Nine, including four firemen, killed in Kolkata Railway building fire
Five of the nine bodies were found in an elevator on the 12th floor. The victims appeared to have suffocated and burnt to death inside the lift.
Five of the nine bodies were found in an elevator on the 12th floor. The victims appeared to have suffocated and burnt to death inside the lift.
Five of the nine bodies were found in an elevator on the 12th floor. The victims appeared to have suffocated and burnt to death inside the lift.
Kolkata: Nine people were killed in an inferno in a multi-storeyed building in Kolkata, which houses zonal offices of Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway on Monday.
Out of the nine deceased, four were firefighters, one assistant sub-inspector posted at the Hare Street police station and one RPF personnel, Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Basu said.
Another one is a senior official of the Railways.
The four firefighters who died were identified as Girish Dey, Gourav Bej, Aniruddha Jana and Biman Purkayat, a senior official of the state government said.
Five of the nine bodies were found in an elevator on the 12th floor. The victims appeared to have suffocated and burnt to death inside the lift.
The death toll may increase as a few other persons are missing and efforts are on to find them out.
The fire, which broke out in the 13th floor of the sprawling New Koilaghat building on Strand Road at around 6.10 pm, is now doused, he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot in the city's central business district, announced that the state government will pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those killed in the blaze and government job to the kin of each victim.
"We lost people. Four of them were firefighters who lost their lives inside a lift which they used to reach upstairs quickly. The lift got electrocuted. This is very unfortunate," Banerjee said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed sadness at the loss of lives due to the fire tragedy in Kolkata and approved an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the incident.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) also said Rs 50,000 would be given to the seriously injured persons.
"Saddened by the loss of lives due to the fire tragedy in Kolkata. In this hour of sadness, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest," Modi tweeted.
Meanwhile, the chief minister alleged that not a single official of the Railways could be seen during the fire incident.
"The building belongs to the Railways. But I have come to know that no one from the Railways reached the spot till now. Our fire department asked for the building map from them in order to get inside the premises but there was no cooperation from them," she said on Monday.
Banerjee, however, said she does not want to indulge in politics with a mishap.
The CM also went to the SSKM Hospital where the bodies, which are in "very bad shape", were sent for post-mortem examination.
At least 20 fire tenders and two hydraulic ladders were pressed into service to douse the blaze at the building which also has a computerised ticket booking centre in the ground floor.
Goyal orders probe
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has set up a high-level committee to ascertain the cause of the fire.
"Sincere condolences to the families of the nine brave deceased including the four firefighters, two Railways personnel and a police ASI who have been fighting the fire at the Eastern Railways Strand road office in Kolkata.
"Railway officials including the GM are at the site and are working in coordination with the state govt for rescue and relief efforts. We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the safety of all concerned," Goyal said in a tweet late last night.
He said all possible assistance has been provided by the Railways to the state government during this unfortunate fire accident.
"A high-level inquiry consisting of four principal heads of Railway departments has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire," he said.
President Kovind expresses grief
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday expressed grief at the loss of lives in a fire incident at a building in Kolkata and said he was pained beyond words at the tragedy.
"Pained beyond words by the extremely tragic fire accident at a building in Kolkata. My deep sympathy and condolences for the bereaved families. I wish for speedy recovery of the injured," Kovind tweeted.