Kolkata flyover collapse: Thought it was a quake, says Eyewitness

The residents of 1, Vivekanda Road on Thursday felt there was an earthquake after the under construction flyover, barely metres from their building, collapsed on the road with a deafening sound.

Panic-stricken by the collapse of a portion of the flyover at Vivekananda Road and Rabindra Sarani crossing, local residents ran helter-skelter only to discover several bodies lying inside vehicles in a pool of blood. The scenes on the road were so disturbing that locals brought clothes to cover the dead bodies. The situation turned worse when it was learned that many were trapped under debris and rescue operation started three hours after the collapse.

The tragic incident killed at least 18 people and injured 80 others. The death toll may rise, officials said.

Champa Singhania, a resident of the Sethia house, said, “We were all busy in our household activities when the building suddenly started shaking. At first we thought it was an earthquake, but later realised that a part of the flyover has collapsed. I have been living here for more than 50 years but I have never seen such a scene in my life before.” She claimed that the work was going on at the flyover in full speed and as a result the incident occurred.

Magazine and newspaper seller Vineet Singh could not believe his eyes when he witnessed the incident. “I was about to get crushed under tonnes of steel. But I got lucky as I was away from my shop. A hand-rickshaw puller was not that lucky as the flyover collapsed on him and the woman passenger he was carrying,” Mr Singh lamented.

He informed that a person who runs a medicine shop nearby rushed to the spot and treated three people who had received head injuries. “Soon a pandemonium broke out as locals began the rescue operation and everybody got panicky. The police, fire brigade and NDRF arrived much later. There are still chances that some people are still trapped under the debris,” he added. Despite the Army personnel joining in, the rescue operation was on till the final reports came in.