Four killed, seven injured after under-construction building collapses in Kolkata; CM Mamata Banerjee visits site

KOLKATA: At least four people died and seven were injured after an under-construction five-storeyed building collapsed in the Garden Reach area of Kolkata on Sunday night.

Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim said more people might still be trapped under the debris. A search operation is going on to rescue them.

Hakim announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 1 lakh to injured persons.

Hakim, who is also West Bengal's urban development minister, said, "I have spoken to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and we will give Rs five lakh to the next of kin of each deceased person and Rs one lakh to each injured person."

Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the spot and took stock of the rescue operation.

"The under-construction building collapsed in the Garden Reach area late on Sunday night. We have rescued a few people. The recuse operation is still going on," a police official said.

Leader of opposition in the West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, took to social media urging immediate involvement of the State Disaster Management Team for rescue and relief.

CM Mamata Banerjee visits site

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the site. She expressed her 'sadness' about the incident.

"Sad to learn about the house collapse disaster of an under-construction building in the Garden Reach area of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Our Mayor, Fire Minister, Secretaries and Commissioner of Police, civic, police, fire and disaster management officers and teams (including NDRF, KMC and KP teams) have been on site throughout the night for mitigating the disaster," the West Bengal CM posted on X.

Mamata Banerjee also mentioned that the collapse happened due to 'illegal construction'

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