Three Killed In Massive Warehouse Fire In South 24 Parganas, Rescue Operations Continue

Kolkata

oi-Swastika Sruti

At
least
three
people
lost
their
lives
after
a
massive
fire
broke
out
at
a
warehouse
in
the
Najirabad
area
of
South
24
Parganas
district
in
West
Bengal
early
Monday
morning,
police
officials
said.

The
fire
started
around
3
am
under
the
Narendrapur
police
station
area
and
took
nearly
seven
hours
to
bring
under
control.
Firefighters
worked
through
heavy
smoke
and
intense
flames
to
contain
the
blaze.

Bodies
Recovered,
More
Feared
Trapped

During
search
operations,
police
and
fire
brigade
teams
recovered
three
badly
charred
bodies
from
the
site.
Baruipur
Police
District
Superintendent
Shubhendu
Kumar
said
the
identities
of
the
victims
could
not
be
confirmed
immediately
due
to
the
extent
of
burn
injuries.

Initial
reports
suggested
that
six
people
were
missing
after
the
fire
broke
out.
Officials
said
it
would
only
be
clear
whether
more
people
were
trapped
once
the
debris
is
fully
removed.
Twelve
fire
engines
were
deployed
to
douse
the
flames.

Smoke
Hindered
Rescue
Efforts

Power
Minister
Aroop
Biswas,
who
visited
the
spot,
said
thick
smoke
inside
the
warehouse
made
rescue
work
extremely
difficult.
To
improve
visibility
and
release
the
smoke,
a
demolition
team
from
the
Kolkata
Municipal
Corporation
was
called
in
to
break
parts
of
the
structure.

Authorities
are
now
focusing
on
clearing
the
debris
to
assess
the
full
scale
of
damage
and
confirm
if
more
victims
are
inside.

Cause
of
Fire
Yet
to
Be
Determined

Officials
said
the
cause
of
the
fire
is
still
unknown
and
an
investigation
has
been
launched.
The
extent
of
property
damage
is
also
being
assessed.
Police
said
further
details
will
emerge
once
the
site
inspection
is
complete.

Separate
Fire
Tragedy
in
Hyderabad

In
a
separate
incident
on
Sunday,
five
people,
including
two
children
and
an
elderly
woman,
were
killed
in
a
fire
at
a
furniture
shop
in
Hyderabad.
According
to
police,
the
victims
died
due
to
suffocation.

The
shop
owner
has
been
arrested,
and
a
case
has
been
registered
under
BNS
Section
105,
which
deals
with
culpable
homicide
not
amounting
to
murder.
Police
said
all
five
bodies
were
recovered
from
different
parts
of
the
building’s
cellar
during
the
rescue
operation.

The
two
incidents
have
once
again
raised
concerns
over
fire
safety
norms
in
commercial
buildings
across
the
country.