Officials and others gather during a rescue operation after a three-storey under-construction warehouse collapsed at Taratala area, in Kolkata, West Bengal on June 24, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The death toll in the Kolkata warehouse collapse increased to 11 on Thursday and 19 injured were undergoing treatment in the State-run SSKM Hospital. Three minors, 17-year-old workers were among the 11 deceased, from West Bengal and Bihar.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹1 lakh to the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the kin of those who lost their lives and ₹50,000 to the injured.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Adhikari said a First Information Report (FIR) had been registered and five persons had been arrested. He claimed the building design was faulty. The Chief Minister announced suspension of all ongoing construction projects in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area and adjoining areas of Rajarhat, Sonarpur, Baruipur and Maheshtala, adding that building plans in these areas would undergo a comprehensive audit. Mr. Adhikari announced that a high-level committee had been constituted for the purpose, headed by Rajesh Pandey, IAS, which would submit a report in seven days. Mr. Adhikari blamed the former Trinamool Congress regime for the irregularities and corruption that had resulted in the accident.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police arrested five persons, including the structural engineer of the warehouse, the lessee of the land and labour supplier of the warehouse project in Taratala that collapsed on Wednesday.
“About 12.05 p.m., one under-construction warehouse at Transport Depot Road in Taratala collapsed and few labourers got stuck under the debris. Five of them were declared brought dead to the hospital. The rescue operation was conducted by the Kolkata Police DMG, KMC personnel, fire services personnel, civil defence and NDRF. The operation is still continuing,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), Kunal Agrawal.
The FIR has been lodged under Sections 105/110/3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which amount to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide and joint criminal liability. The FIR named six persons of whom structural engineer Kamal Samanta, Syed MD Gulzar Hussain, Sambhunath Behera, Dibakar Bhandari and Abdul Hamid were arrested.
One rescued alive
The accident occurred on Wednesday when the multi-storey warehouse being constructed by a private operator on 6,689 sq m of land leased out by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority (SMPA) came crashing down. Rescue operations continued on Thursday and at least one person was rescued alive. The heavy rains on Thursday afternoon hampered the rescue operations, which continued for the second day. Senior police officials said that since there were no records of how many workers were working at the site when the accident occurred, rescue operations would continue till the workers were sure that there was no one trapped inside.
According to those present at the site, 50 to 60 people were at work when the accident took place. Local people said they heard several workers buried under the debris crying out for help. Attempts were made to drill a hole through the debris and reach out to the trapped workers, and oxygen and food were made available. The Army joined the rescue operation, mobilising four columns from the Eastern Command.Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are working at the site.
“In close coordination with NDRF, SDRF and Kolkata Police, seven specialised Army teams, supported by medical personnel, ambulances and advanced engineering equipment, including cutting machinery and high-intensity illumination systems, remain deployed,” the Eastern Command of the Army said in a statement. The Army has established a fully equipped 10-bed emergency medical facility with medical and surgical specialists at the accident site to provide immediate care.
Published – June 25, 2026 08:47 am IST
