Kolkata fire death toll rises to 42

Kolkata, Mar 29: With the recovery of six more bodies from the fire-hit Stephen Court building, the death toll in the Tuesday, Mar 23 mishap has gone up to 42.

On the whole eight bodies were recovered on Monday, Mar 29, almost a week after the tragedy. Two charred bodies were recovered in the wee hours of the morning.

"Six more bodies were found during the day from the fifth floor of the building," additional director general (fire service), Debapriya Biswas told a news agency.

Joint commissioner of police (Headquarters) Jawed Shamim said that there was a possibility of more bodies being under the debris of the 150-year-old heritage building.

"The search operation is on. I cannot say right now whether this is the total figure. There is every possibility that some more bodies are lying under the debris," he said.

In the morning when Kolkata police Gautam Mohan Chakraborty informed about the two bodies found earlier, he said that as per the FIRs filed in connection with the case only 37 people have been reported missing.

With 36 bodies recovered earlier, the personnel were searching for one last missing person and the news of six more bodies comes as a shock to the country.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation workers are currently clearing the debris.

OneIndia News