As a result of a severe fire that engulfed a warehouse in the Anandapur area of Kolkata’s Nazirabad locality, at least eight people have lost their lives. The fire that started at around 3 a.m. on Monday has resulted in several persons being declared missing, and the rescue operations are still going on among the smouldering debris.
The West Bengal police and fire services officials confirmed the latest death toll on Tuesday, stating that due to the extreme burning, the bodies were not identifiable even on the spot. Forensic teams are currently working on the remains.
Where and How the Fire Started?
The fire broke out in a warehouse that stored mainly dry and packaged food items, soft drinks, and flammable materials at Nazirabad in Anandapur a heavily populated industrial and residential area in the eastern part of Kolkata.
According to witnesses and officials, the high temperature and the flammable stock of goods helped the fire to spread very quickly to two other warehouses that were next to the main one. In such a situation, it became very difficult for the firefighters to intervene at the very beginning.
Firefighters were only informed of the fire after 3 a.m. on Monday and approximately 12 to 15 fire engines were sent to the location. It took them almost seven hours to control the massive fire, and even after more than 30 hours, fire remnants inside the debris still cause difficulty in rescue operations.
Missing Workers and Search Continuance
Although eight deaths have been officially recognized, the authorities and relatives are expecting the number of casualties to increase. Police and fire officials indicate that the number of people still missing has exceeded a dozen, and some sources say there might be 14 or even more who have not been found as of Tuesday night.
Relatives’ first statements and police documents showed that there were approximately 20, 25 workers inside the two warehouses when the fire broke out some might have been asleep or on night shifts thus raising the worries that others might still be buried under the rubble.
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Difficulties faced by the rescue teams
The rescue work has been a hard and exhausting one. Firefighting officers declare that although they have controlled the main flame, heat sources and thick smoke inside the demolished buildings still block their way. Bulldozers have likewise been used to remove debris, but there is still the danger of collapse and the fire starting again.
Police and firefighters are meticulously going through the burnt remains, with plans to identify them through DNA profiling wherever human remains are found, to match the samples with relatives. Safety Lapses and Probe Ordered Initial examinations have led to the discovery of major safety violations at the warehouse.
The West Bengal Fire Department officials disclosed that the building had no adequate fire safety facilities and was running without the department’s permission or clearance. State Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose came to the place on Tuesday and assured that the matter would be fully investigated. He warned that the court proceedings would be started against the guilty ones if the violation of the law is confirmed.
Political Reactions and Public Outcry
The disaster has led to heated political comments and public outrage. BJP leaders, including MLA Ashok Dinda, blamed the state government for neglecting their responsibilities for both COVID and unsafe industrial environments by not enforcing the norms, and they said that the existence of such illegal activities without any control had resulted in this tragedy. Politicians’ supporters fighting broke out at the site of the incident during the visit of the minister, reflecting the general unease over the issues of responsibility and administration.
Impact on Families and Local Community
The destruction has left families in very troubled hearts. Family members of the workers who went missing at the Midnapore site and the neighbouring areas of the district came to the location to search for their loved ones. They are extremely desperate. Some of them told that the last they heard was a call from a worker who got trapped and then the line went dead.
Informants from the locality told that the situation was very hectic. They saw smoke everywhere, and the emergency staff did not even take a small break when they stayed at the spot till morning.
Safety Norms, Urban Risks and Wider Concerns
The fire has once again brought to the surface industrial safety non, compliance issues around the Kolkata area. It is a well, known fact that in these areas which are densely inhabited, factories, and warehouses coexist with residential and commercial sectors. Thus, such accidents are not uncommon. According to experts, one of the measures that will help is a stricter enforcement of fire audits. Besides that, there should be well, marked evacuation routes, and only approved safety systems are to be used so that a disaster of such magnitude is not repeated.
