Howrah: Under-construction shed collapses at Shalimar station

An under-construction railway shed at Shalimar Railway Station in Howrah, West Bengal collapsed on Monday. Few labourers were left injured after the incident, as per reports. A medical team was immediately rushed to the station. The injured were admitted to the nearby hospital.  Police are inspecting the accident site and trying to ascertain the reason behind the collapse, a spokesperson of the South Eastern Railway (SER) said. Senior SER officials are at the spot to supervise rescue and search operations. 

Rescue operation underway

According to reports, an under-construction platform shelter outside the passenger area collapsed at Shalimar railway station while several labourers were working on it. The construction work is being carried out by IRCON, a turnkey government-undertaking,  under the Shalimar station development project. Divisional Railway Manager/Kharagpur and IRCON officials are present at the site and supervising rescue operations. The incident occurred outside the passenger area. One worker was killed and four others were injured in the incident, a spokesperson of the South Eastern Railway (SER) said.

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Earlier in October 2018, a similar incident had occurred wherein a foot overbridge had collapsed at Santragachi railway station in Howrah claiming the lives of two people and further injuring seventeen persons. The incident had occurred between platform No. 2 and 3 at the Santragachi station.

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Two trains arrived at the same time at the platforms connected by the bridge, as per reports. Many passengers had deboarded and others were trying to reach their trains. The accident was caused following a stampede like the situation at the bridge. The reason behind stampede was that Nagercoil-Shalimar Express and two EMU locals had arrived at the station at the same time.

(With agencies input)

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