A massive multi-agency rescue operation is underway in west Kolkata’s Taratala area after a three-storey, under-construction warehouse collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least five workers and injuring 20 others. Authorities fear that between 12 and 18 labourers remain trapped beneath the heavy wreckage.
The disaster occurred around noon on Transport Depot Road near Brace Bridge. Approximately 50 to 60 labourers were on-site, in the middle of concrete casting work for the upper floors, when the massive 32,000-square-foot structure suddenly gave way. Massive iron beams, reinforced concrete slabs, and sheets of corrugated tin came crashing down, burying the workers instantly. Witnesses described a loud cracking sound followed by a massive cloud of dust, with the desperate cries of trapped victims echoing from beneath the rubble shortly after.
A coordinated rescue effort was quickly launched, drawing in nearly 400 personnel from the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Kolkata Police, and local fire services. Rescuers are racing against time under incredibly difficult conditions, deploying advanced equipment including hydraulic cranes, gas cutters, and diamond chain saws to slice through twisted steel. NDRF teams have also utilized sniffer dogs and overhead drones to locate survivors trapped in pockets of debris, while emergency teams carry out vertical drilling to pump in oxygen and water to known survivors.
The warehouse was being constructed on land leased from the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority. Preliminary assessments by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) engineers point toward a severe structural design flaw, noting that iron support beams had visibly bent under the weight of the fresh concrete before the structure flipped and overturned.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the disaster site and the injured at SSKM Hospital, subsequently ordering a temporary freeze on similar construction activities in the city pending a full safety audit. Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police Detective Department has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident. An FIR has been filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and three individuals—including the site supervisor, structural engineer, and a labour supplier—have already been arrested.