Majerhat bridge collapse: Mamata Banerjee visits site; Second body pulled out of rubble

Kolkata, Sep 5: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday arrived at the site where the Majherhat Bridge collapsed on Tuesday, leaving two persons dead.

The Chief Minister informed that one more body has been recovered today while the investigation into the incident continues.

The second person whose body was found on Wednesday has been identified as 21-year-old Metro construction worker, Pranab Dey, who hailed from Murshidabad district. The other deceased person has been identified as 27-year-old Soumendu Bag.

"We are probing this incident from all the angles, no angle is less or more important for us. We are holding emergency meeting tomorrow to chart the future course," Mamata said.

"Money and job can't compensate lives but still compensation of Rs 5 lakh has been announced for the person who died. Two people are critical. There are many more such bridges in Bengal so the government is trying to get those records and take necessary steps," she added.

The overnight search and rescue operations at the Majerhat bridge collapse site in the south Kolkata continued Wednesday morning to find those possibly trapped in the debris, officials said.

The area near the site had been dug up for a metro railway project and construction material are strewn all over the place. Labourers working on the metro project claimed that two of their co-workers, who were probably inside a temporary shelter underneath the bridge, were missing.

The Kolkata Disaster Management Department, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the state fire department conducted the search operations throughout the night, the officials said.

The police had said Tuesday evening that 27-year-old Soumendu Bag had died in the collapse while 21 others, including three women, were injured. The injured are receiving treatment at the hospitals in the city.

A mini bus, four cars and a few motorcycles that were damaged in the bridge collapse were removed using cranes, the official said.