Kolkata : 9 killed including fire fighters in a massive fire

Kolkata : A massive fire broke out at a high rise building that houses the offices of the Eastern Railway at Kolkata’s Strand Road. Nine people including four firefighters, one Railway Protection Force personnel, an assistant sub-inspector of the Kolkata Police and one unidentified person died while fighting to douse the fire, fire service minister Sujit Bose said late Monday night.

According to the fire brigade officials, two more bodies were found inside a second elevator late on Monday night. Due to the deceased’s severe burn injuries, the bodies could not be identified. But it was suspected that one of them could be the Eastern Railway’s deputy chief commercial manager Partha Sarathi Mondal who had been missing since evening.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee after reaching the spot around 10.15 pm said, “The police commissioner told me that two more people are missing and may have died.”

As per the information given by the Railway officials who work in the building, “One of our colleagues, Sudipta Das, a technician and resident of Howrah, is missing.” The same information was given by the members of his family who talked to the chief minister.

Among the fire services personnel who died includes Girish Deb, Gaurab Bej, Aniruddh Jana and Biman Purkait.