Kolkata flyover disaster: Heart-wrenching scenes in hospitals

Kolkata, March 31: Inconsolable cries of the bereaved, wails of the injured and frenetic searches for their dear ones -- hospitals on Thursday saw heart-wrenching scenes as the city witnessed one of its worst disasters when an under-construction flyover crashed in the Posta area, crushing scores of unsuspecting people.

There was mad rush among doctors and nurses at the Marwari Relief Society Hospital as one after the other injured were rushed to the hospital which is just 500 metres from the crash site.

Anxious family members, looking for their near and dear ones, hopped from one bed to another while the injured cried in agony.

If there were a few who heaved a sigh of relief after having found their relatives sustaining minor injuries, some others had to look in another hospital.

With the number of patients rising steadily, the hospital had to transfer many of them to other facilities.

"Twenty-six injured were admitted here, out of which three died. Many of them were discharged and some of them transferred to other hospitals. At present, two patients are here," Ajay Sharma, general manager of the society, told IANS.

Similar scenes were witnessed at the S.S.K.M. Hospital, the R.G. Kar Hospital and N.R.S. Hospital among others.

As soon as the news of the tragedy spread, voluntary blood donors made a beeline to the hospitals while blood banks offered not to charge money for the victims.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who supervised rescue operations and later visited a few of the hospitals, said 21 people were killed in the tragedy while over 78 people were injured.

Banerjee said 12 of the bodies have been handed over to the families while three were yet to be identified.

IANS