Three feared dead in water tank collapse at Bengal railway station

Kolkata: Three people were feared dead and several others injured after a massive water tank collapsed at the Burdwan railway station in West Bengal on Wednesday.

The tank had a carrying capacity of over 15,000 gallons.

Although the East Burdwan district administration or the state police are yet to officially confirm the casualties, eyewitnesses told reporters that they saw three bodies, including that of a woman, being taken by a rescue team from the accident spot.

Unofficial sources said that at least 27 persons were injured and many of them are currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital, with some under critical conditions.

Following the accident, arrival and departure of trains from three platforms of the station has been temporarily cancelled.

Railways officials have confirmed that it will take a while to bring the entire situation under control.

It is learnt that the initial rescue operations were started by the station employees, along with people waiting at the platforms, porters and vendors.

After a short while, staff from the state fire services department, state disaster management department, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and local police also joined the rescue operations.

Earlier, two persons were injured at the same station following the collapse of a balcony of an old station building.

Questions were raised then about the lack of maintenance of the constructions within the state premises.