A flyover under construction collapsed in North Kolkata on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and trapping more than 150 people under the debris.Police said the flyover collapsed near the Ganesh Talkies in Girish Park on Thursday afternoon.The flyover is located in the densely populated Bara Bazar.Rescue and relief started immediately but more than 150 people are still believed to be trapped under the debris.Many of them may have succumbed to injuries, feared doctors.Units of army and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have been deployed to help rescue those trapped under the debris.
“We have got our heavy equipment now but some of those trapped under the debris may have already succumbed,” said NDRF official BS Amroti.Eyewitness said they heard a loud explosion and then a crashing sound. A cloud of smoke emerged from the site of the collapse.Visuals emerging from the location show huge amounts of tangled metal and concrete.There was also a fire reported under the bridge. The fire has been linked to fuel tanks that were stocked under the bridge.Reuters reported that firefighters and residents were trying with their bare hands to rescue those trapped under the wreckage of the metal-and-cement structure.There was little sign of a coordinated rescue operation, with access for heavy lifting equipment restricted by the proximity of buildings on either side of the flyover and heavy traffic, it said.
source:Reuters
