The rescue operation at the site of the collapsed warehouse in Garden Reach reached its final stage on Saturday, with the NDRF, army, fire services and Kolkata Municipal Corporation concluding that there was little chance of anyone still being trapped alive after more than three days of search.
The NDRF team withdrew around 4pm after senior officers informed the government that the operation was complete.
One of the 16 victims, previously unidentified, was identified on Saturday as Sirchand Kumar, 18, from Bihar.
Final sweep
The day began with a multi-disciplinary team dividing the 6,689 sq m disaster site into smaller pockets before launching the final phase of search operations. Senior NDRF officers said victim-locating cameras, see-through devices and thermal imaging equipment were lowered through vertically drilled holes to check if anyone remained trapped alive.
The thermal imaging devices detect body heat, while victim-locating cameras help generate images of inaccessible underground spaces, officers explained.
“We scanned the site exhaustively using different gadgets and equipment to check for any trace of survivors... We don’t think anyone is trapped alive,” an NDRF officer said. “It’s difficult to conclude. During Operation Dost in 2023, our team in Turkey rescued a child six days after four family members had been found dead in an earthquake.”
Officers from the army and disaster management group (DMG) said bodies, if any, would be visible only after heavy machinery cuts through large iron beams and concrete. “It appears the deceased succumbed to multiple injuries sustained due to falling iron beams and concrete,” an officer said. “No one appears to have died due to asphyxiation.”
Debris challenge
Members of the rescue team said the main challenge was navigating a massive pile of twisted iron and concrete to reach those trapped below. “The structure was so unstable that we couldn’t use gas cutters freely, as it could have disturbed the balance of the debris,” an NDRF officer said.
Sources said seven NDRF teams, comprising over 200 personnel, were deployed from Haringhata and Calcutta, leaving only a skeleton staff at headquarters. “The chance of survival beyond 72 hours is extremely low. Once that window passed, we had to return for the next deployment,” the officer said.
Heavy machinery would now be deployed in the coming days to remove debris and cut through the mangled mass of iron and concrete. “Only then can we reach beneath and locate if anyone is lying dead,” a DMG member said.
JU probe
A five-member team of experts from Jadavpur University visited the site on Saturday following a request from Kolkata Police.
The team comprised senior faculty from construction, civil and metallurgical engineering departments. Members said they intend to conduct a forensic engineering study of the collapse using engineering principles.
“We have sought details of the building plan, sketches and the sequence of construction from the police,” said Partha Pratim Biswas, professor of the construction engineering department. “Some tests are required. A few can be conducted at the site, others in laboratories.”
Complaint: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Cell (BJMC), which lodged a complaint at Taratala police station alleging former mayor Firhad Hakim’s role in the collapse, has also named two Trinamool councillors — Anwar Khan of Ward 80 and Shams Iqbal of Ward 134.
“Hakim and these councillors cleared illegal building plans in the Port area. They should be brought to book,” said a BJMC functionary.
