Kolkata Bridge Collapse: One dead, 19 injured; CM Mamata Banerjee orders probe

In a tragic incident, a portion of over 50-year-old Majerhat bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata’s crowded Alipore area collapsed on Tuesday evening, leaving one dead and 19 others seriously injured, said police.

All the injured people, including two women, were admitted to Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital (SSKM) and Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) hospitals, the police added.

The Majerhat bridge that runs over the Majerhat Railway Station and connects the city centre with the heavily populated Behala caved in at around 4:45 pm during the rush hour.

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On receiving the information, several teams of fire brigade, police and NDRF personnel rushed to the spot and rescued 25 people from the rubble. One minibus, four cars and a few motorbikes were crushed in the incident.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was in Darjeeling, said that expressed grief over the incident and ordered a probe in the incident. She had also announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,00 each to the injured.

“A probe will be done by a committee headed by Chief Secretary Malay De to find out the cause of the collapse. Action will be taken against those whose negligence caused the accident. No one will be spared”, PTI quoted Banerjee as saying.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the incident as “deeply unfortunate” and hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured.

“I have come to see the rescue work. It is a big disaster. I heard that maintenance of the bridge is entrusted with the PWD and the railways. The matter required to be enquired,” he told reporters.