Five more people were rescued from the rubble on Thursday morning, taking the total number of individuals pulled out from the collapsed structure to 30, according to sources associated with the rescue operation.
Official sources stated that 10 victims died either at the site of the collapse or shortly afterward. Another injured person, identified as Ganesh Kalindi, 45, succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at SSKM Hospital, raising the death toll to 11.
The deceased have been identified as Krishna Chowdhury, 30, from North 24 Parganas; Rohit Choudhari, 40, from Nadia; Rahul Choudhury, 17, from Purba Bardhaman; Chandrama Choudhury, 60, from Krishnanagar; Pappu Rajak, 40, from Shyamnagar; Azgar Hossain, 55, from Khidirpur in Kolkata; Sahil Sardar, 17, from Basanti; Ghi Kumar, 17, from Munger in Bihar; Hasan Imam, 44, from Metiabruz; Nabin Singh from Asansol; and Ganesh Kalindi, 45.
Nineteen injured persons are currently undergoing treatment at a state-run hospital, officials confirmed.
Rescue operations faced a temporary setback when heavy rainfall halted activities for nearly an hour. Despite the disruption, personnel from the police, fire services, the National Disaster Response Force, and the Army remained deployed at the site and continued efforts to locate any remaining survivors.
The collapsed warehouse was under construction on a leasehold plot owned by Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.
Rescue operations continued throughout the night under the supervision of senior state government and civic officials, including Health Secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam, Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda, and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Commissioner Smita Pandey.
A senior state government official said that all available resources had been mobilized to identify and rescue individuals who might still be trapped beneath the debris.
“The rescue operation is being carried out on a war footing. Advanced equipment, including the Army's ground-penetrating radar, cameras, and other specialized devices, is being used to locate possible survivors. Our priority remains saving lives and ensuring immediate medical assistance to the injured,” the official said.
The Army’s ground-penetrating radar system is being utilized to detect signs of life beneath the collapsed structure. The technology can identify movement and pulse signals through layers of debris, enabling rescue personnel to concentrate excavation efforts on specific locations.
Specialized cameras have also been deployed beneath the rubble to identify trapped individuals. Authorities are additionally using mobile phone tower data to trace the locations of persons whose mobile devices remain active under the debris.
Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident. The accused have been identified as warehouse owner Shambhunath Behera, structural engineer Kamal Samanta, Gulzar Hussain, supervisor of Ayan Traders, labour supplier Dibakar Bhandari, and Abdul Hamid.
Kolkata Police has registered a suo motu case under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant legal provisions against the accused.
“We have initiated a criminal investigation into the collapse. At least five persons have been arrested so far, and further inquiries are underway to identify others who may have been responsible. We are examining all aspects, including structural safety compliance and operational procedures at the warehouse,” a senior police officer said.
Behera Brothers was the lessee of the collapsed warehouse located on Transport Depot Road in Taratala. Investigators are examining the circumstances that led to the collapse and determining whether violations of structural safety standards and operational regulations contributed to the tragedy.
The disaster has emerged as one of the most serious industrial accidents in Kolkata in recent years, triggering an extensive rescue mission, a criminal investigation, and renewed scrutiny of construction safety standards as authorities race against time to locate anyone who may still be trapped beneath the wreckage.
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