KOLKATA: Three persons were killed, and 13 others are missing in a deadly fire that broke out in the Najirabad area of the South 24 Parganas district in the early hours of Monday and gutted two warehouses, police said.
“Till around 5:30 pm, charred bodies of at least three persons were recovered. Family members of the remaining 13 persons tried to contact them over mobile phones. But their phones were either switched off or were going unanswered. Work to douse the flames completely and remove the debris is still going on,” said an officer of the Baruipur police district.
Some of those missing had called up their families, saying they were trapped in a fire at the warehouse.
“My son-in-law, Pankaj Halder, called me up and said that there was a fire in the godown where he worked and that he and three others had been trapped. He also said that they were trying to break through a wall to get out. When I tried to call him back, his mobile phone was switched off,” said Alok Naskar, a resident of South 24 Parganas.
Another man told reporters that he had spoken to his family member, Krishna Dhara, at 9pm last evening. “We spoke normally like every day. He was fine. In the morning when I saw the news, I called Krishna on his mobile. It was switched off. I came rushing from Pinga in West Midnapore. I have already lodged a missing diary with the local police station,” he said.
Bengal power minister Arup Biswas told reporters that he had spoken with families of the six missing persons. “Fire tenders are still working. Until the flames are completely doused and the firefighters go inside, we won’t be able to say what happened,” Biswas said.
Officials said the fire broke out around 3 am in one warehouse and soon spread to the adjacent one. While one was a fast-food chain warehouse, the other belonged to a decorator. Inflammable items were stored in both warehouses, firefighters told reporters.
“Twelve fire tenders were pressed into action. The fire was brought under control by around 1 pm, but efforts to douse the flames in every pocket are still continuing,” a fire department official said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Bengal. “Who will douse the flames? The state government is on leave. It is Republic Day. One person from Moyna in East Midnapore district is also missing,” Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari said.
