Kolkata Warehouse Fire Tragedy Claims 11 Lives, Leaves 23 Missing
A catastrophic fire that engulfed two warehouses in Kolkata's Anandapur area has resulted in at least 11 fatalities, with approximately 23 workers still unaccounted for as rescue operations continue. The devastating blaze, which erupted in the early hours of Monday, has sent shockwaves through the city and raised urgent questions about industrial safety standards.
Early Morning Inferno at Ruby Crossing
The fire broke out around 3 am on Monday in a godown operated by Pushpanjali Decorators, located off Ruby crossing in Anandapur. The flames rapidly spread to an adjacent warehouse leased by popular food chain Wow! Momo, creating an inferno that proved nearly impossible to escape due to the presence of highly inflammable materials stored in both facilities.
Eyewitness accounts and preliminary reports indicate that only three out of approximately 37 workers present in the two warehouses managed to escape the rapidly spreading flames. Most victims were reportedly from neighboring districts who resided on the godown premises, highlighting the precarious living and working conditions faced by migrant laborers.
Rescue Operations and Mounting Casualties
By Tuesday evening, rescue teams had recovered 11 charred bodies from the site, but the high number of missing persons has raised fears that this tragedy could become Kolkata's third deadliest fire incident in recent memory. The disaster now threatens to approach the scale of the AMRI Hospital fire that claimed 89 lives and the Stephen Court blaze that killed 43 people approximately fifteen years ago.
Rescue operations have been painstakingly slow due to structural instability caused by the intense fire. Disaster response teams have been cautiously entering the weakened structures to retrieve bodies feared trapped under collapsed roofs and burnt goods, with safety concerns significantly slowing progress.
Official Response and Compensation Announcements
State Urban Development Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim visited the Nazirabad site under Narendrapur Police Station jurisdiction on Tuesday afternoon, announcing compensation of Rs 10 lakh for each affected family. Authorities have detained Gangadhar Das, owner of Pushpanjali Decorators, from his East Midnapore residence for questioning.
Investigations have revealed that Das owns the plot where both warehouses were constructed, with Wow! Momo operating their facility through a lease arrangement. Police and fire services personnel have pointed to the complete absence of fire safety protocols as a primary factor in the tragedy's severity.
Fire Safety Violations Under Scrutiny
Fire Minister Sujit Bose, who also inspected the site, confirmed that both units were operating without mandatory fire safety clearances and displayed minimal firefighting preparedness. "A thorough probe has been initiated to determine the exact cause of the fire. We are examining whether proper fire audits were conducted. Stern legal action will be taken against the godown owners for these serious lapses," Bose stated.
Preliminary investigations suggest the blaze may have originated from a cooking oven, though official confirmation awaits completion of forensic analysis. Police officials emphasized that their investigation includes examining fire safety compliance at both facilities.
Conflicting Accounts and Local Concerns
A spokesperson for Wow! Momo claimed their Nazirabad warehouse, operational for three years, complied with all fire safety requirements, including installation of 28 fire extinguishers. The representative asserted that the fire originated in the decorator's facility, which allegedly lacked any safety compliance.
Local residents raised additional concerns about environmental violations, alleging that waterbodies had been filled during previous administrations to accommodate industrial construction in the area. Mayor Hakim addressed these allegations, stating, "Our government prioritizes wetland preservation. Police are thoroughly investigating the incident, and those responsible will face consequences."
Human Tragedy Unfolds at Disaster Site
The emotional toll of the disaster became painfully visible as relatives of missing workers arrived from distant locations, many breaking down upon witnessing the scale of destruction. Families desperately sought information about their loved ones but received little clarity from authorities overwhelmed by the situation.
One distraught relative from Panskura expressed the collective anguish: "We await any information, but the silence is unbearable. Our young men came here to build better lives, not to vanish without trace in this terrible fire."
As forensic teams prepare to conduct DNA tests for identification of recovered bodies, the Kolkata warehouse fire has exposed critical gaps in industrial safety enforcement while leaving families in agonizing uncertainty about missing loved ones.
