Kolkata warehouse collapse: Sniffer dogs, thermal scanners aid survivor search

Five more people were rescued from the debris of the under-construction warehouse that collapsed in Kolkata's Taratala area on Thursday, as emergency teams continued an intensive search for survivors more than 18 hours after the incident.

Officials said the death toll remained at five, while at least 25 injured people were undergoing treatment in hospital. Several others are still feared trapped beneath the rubble.

The five people rescued on Thursday were rushed to hospital, where doctors were assessing their condition.

"Every available resource has been deployed to ensure that those trapped are located and rescued at the earliest. The operation is being carried out in a highly challenging environment, but teams are working relentlessly," a senior official said.

Rescue operations continued through the night, with personnel using sniffer dogs, thermal detection devices and specialised equipment to search beneath collapsed concrete slabs and twisted steel beams.

A senior police officer said rescue teams were proceeding cautiously because of the unstable condition of the collapsed structure, making the operation particularly challenging.

Senior state government officials, including home secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh and health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee, remained at the site to monitor rescue and relief operations.

Meanwhile, police arrested five more people during overnight raids, taking the total number of arrests in connection with the collapse to eight. Three people had been arrested on Wednesday.

Kolkata Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by ACP (Crime) Kunal Agarwal, to investigate the circumstances leading to the collapse.

Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari is expected to address the incident in the state assembly later on Thursday.

With PTI inputs