Kolkata warehouse fire: toll climbs to 16 amid search for missing

The death toll from a devastating fire at two warehouses in the Anandapur area on the southern outskirts of Kolkata has risen to 16, police said on Wednesday, as rescue teams continued to search for those still unaccounted for.

Several people remain missing following the blaze, which broke out in the early hours of Monday and raged for more than a day before being brought under control on Tuesday afternoon.

Police have arrested Gangadhar Das, the owner of a decorator’s warehouse that was destroyed in the fire, on charges of causing death by negligence. The warehouse stood next to a facility belonging to a momo manufacturing company, which was also gutted. Similar charges have been registered against the owners of the food company, although no arrests have been made so far.

According to the police, the fire started at around 3 am on Monday, but it remains unclear which warehouse it originated from or how it spread so rapidly. The intensity of the blaze left body parts scattered across the site, complicating recovery efforts and making identification extremely difficult.

“So far, 16 deaths have been confirmed, but the identities and home addresses of the deceased are still unknown. Officially, 20 people are still missing,” said a senior officer from the Baruipur Police District.

Due to the condition of the remains, authorities plan to conduct DNA tests to establish the identities of the victims. Police said they would seek court permission for forensic testing in the coming days.

A case has been registered at Narendrapur police station following a complaint from the fire department, along with a separate case initiated by the police themselves. Acting on these, officers arrested Das from the Garia area late on Tuesday. He is expected to be produced before the Baruipur Sub-Divisional Court after a medical examination.

Das has denied responsibility, claiming the fire was caused by negligence at the neighbouring momo factory. He told investigators that his long-running business had been completely destroyed.

The incident has raised serious questions about fire safety compliance at the warehouses. Fire department officials confirmed that no fire safety clearance had been issued for either facility.

The Director General of the Fire Department, Ranveer Kumar, who visited the site on Tuesday, said the warehouses had been operating without proper authorisation. He acknowledged that there may have been lapses on the part of the department and said the matter would be investigated.

Scrutiny has also fallen on the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) for its apparent failure to act. After inspecting the site, Kolkata Mayor and state urban development minister Firhad Hakim defended the lack of enforcement action, saying it was not appropriate to shut down people’s livelihoods.

There have also been claims that the warehouses were built on reclaimed wetlands. Hakim said he was unaware whether the land was classified as wetlands, adding that no new wetlands were currently being filled in.

Meanwhile, the state government has announced financial assistance for the families of those killed or missing in the fire. Hakim said each affected family would receive Rs10 lakh once the victims’ bodies or remains are formally identified.

With IANS inputs