One dead in partial collapse of Burdwan railway station building in West Bengal
KOLKATA: One of the two injured in a partial collapse of the 140-year-old main building of Burdwan railway station succumbed to his injuries on Sunday morning. Railway officials said more people could have been injured as small chunks of the building had started coming off around 20 minutes before the collapse alerting commuters to the impending danger.
Ishaq Khan, the Howrah divisional railway manager said the deceased is yet-to-be-identified. “The injured person from Jharkhand, identified as Hepna Tudu, is under treatment at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. An inquiry by a three-member committee has been initiated to ascertain what led to the mishap,’’ he said.
According to railway officials, minor repairing work was being conducted in the building but it was not clear that the collapse had anything to do with the ongoing work. “The building is adjacent to platform No. 1. The portion that collapsed is on the other side of the building. There were not many commuters on the platform when the mishap took place,’’ said a railway official.
The building houses chambers of railway officials, a dormitory, guest rooms, and waiting rooms for passengers and railway employees.
“Small concrete chunks first started to come off around 20 minutes before the collapse people came rushing out of the platform. This saved many lives,’’ said a railway official.
Reason behind collapse still unclear
According to officials, minor repairing work was being conducted in the building but it was not clear that the collapse had anything to do with the ongoing work