Updated March 9th, 2021 at 10:51 IST
9 dead in Kolkata fire tragedy; PM Modi & Piyush Goyal assure support, initiate inquiry
The death toll rises to nine with 2 more bodies recovered in the fire that broke out at the Eastern Railway office building in Kolkata's Strand Road on Monday.
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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy in Kolkata. A massive fire broke out at a multi-storeyed building housing offices of the Railways at Kolkata on Monday night. The death toll has now mounted to nine.
Saddened by the loss of lives due to the fire tragedy in Kolkata. In this hour of sadness, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
Prime Minister also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of the deceased.
PM @narendramodi has approved an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the tragic fire in Kolkata. Rs. 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured.
— PMO India (@PMOIndia)
Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal also took to Twitter to extend his condolences to the victim's family who lost their lives in the fire accident. He also ordered for a high-level inquiry of railway departments to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Sincere condolences to the families of the 9 brave deceased including the 4 firefighters, 2 Railways personnel & a police ASI who have been fighting the fire at the Eastern Railways Strand road office in Kolkata.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal)
Union Minister further ensured the safety of the people and informed them that the railway officials and the state govt are working together.
Railway officials including the GM are at the site and are working in coordination with the State Govt for rescue and relief efforts. We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure safety of all concerned.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal)
All possible assistance has been provided by the Railways to the State Govt during this unfortunate fire accident. A high level inquiry consisting of four Principal heads of Railway departments has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal)
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also visited the spot after the incident and announced Rs 10 lakh compensation each for the kin of the deceased.
“It’s very sad. Ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each will be given to the kin of the deceased and government job will be given to one family member.”
CM Mamata also alleged that no one from the railways were present at the spot. "I don't want to do politics over the tragedy but no one from railways has come here."
Eastern Railway General Manager Manoj Joshi said that due to the fire, one important installation of the Passenger Reservation System has been affected and service was suspended.
"Officers of Railways were present there, efforts were being made for whatever was required. Maybe any map wasn't made available immediately, staff members of railways were present to guide about the building. Efforts are being made through CRIS to recover it via a disaster recovery system that has backup data. We're hoping it'll be done by morning," Joshi said, reported ANI.
He further added that Railway will cooperate with the state in any probe conducted.
Fire has broken out on the 13th floor. No injuries or casualties have been reported yet. We are facing a little issue as there is less space, making it difficult to put our ladders in place. We are working: Sujit Bose, MIC Fire and Emergency Services, Government of West Bengal pic.twitter.com/nX4dbYgsAR
— ANI (@ANI)
Fire Breaks Out At Kolkata High Rise
A fire broke out at a multi-storeyed building housing offices of the Railways at Kolkata's Strand road on Monday. As per sources, the 13th floor of the building caught fire at 6.10 pm after which 8 fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. A short-circuit is said to be the cause of the fire.
West Bengal: Fire breaks out on the 13th floor of a multi- storey building at Strand road in Kolkata. 8 fire tenders reach the spot. More details awaited pic.twitter.com/DLzrmBZDkF
— ANI (@ANI)
(With ANI Inputs)
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Published March 9th, 2021 at 08:19 IST