Five Dead in Kolkata Warehouse Collapse, 20 Rescued; Probe Ordered

At least five people died and around 20 were rescued after an under-construction warehouse collapsed at Taratala in Kolkata on Wednesday, officials said. Several others were feared trapped under the rubble as rescue teams worked through the debris.

Emergency crews, including disaster response personnel, rushed to the spot soon after the godown caved in. Rescuers pulled out around 20 people, some of them injured, and shifted them to hospitals. Early reports suggested a possible design flaw in the structure may have led to the collapse, though a formal probe is expected to establish the exact cause.

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the site and reviewed the rescue operation. In a major decision following the tragedy, the state government ordered that projects cleared during the previous TMC government's tenure in the city be suspended until July 31, pending a safety review.

Kolkata Police have registered a suo motu case into the mishap, and officials said an investigation would look into how the under-construction structure came down. Disaster response teams continued the search through the day for those still feared trapped, using heavy equipment to clear the heavy slabs of concrete.

Such collapses at construction sites are not new to fast-growing cities, where the pace of building can sometimes outstrip safety checks. Civic experts have long called for tighter inspection of under-construction sites, proper safety gear for workers, and stricter action against violations. The Taratala incident is likely to renew that debate in the days ahead.

The collapse has once again raised questions over construction safety and the oversight of building projects in densely populated parts of the city. Families of the victims and those still missing waited anxiously at the site as the search continued into the night, hoping for more survivors to be pulled out of the rubble.