Worked for: West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services as an auxiliary fire operator
Purkait was one of those who had jumped into the rescue of patients at the AMRI Hospital in Dhakuria after a fire broke out at the hospital in December 2011, leaving 92 dead. He was only 14 then but did not think twice before joining few others in bringing out the trapped patients.
On Monday night too, Purkait didn’t think twice and was one of the first to enter the building when fire was engulfing the 13th floor, said his colleagues. Purkait was in one of the elevators and his body was recovered along with several others.
India: 7 killed in Kolkata multi-storeyed building fire
PTI/Kolkata
Photo: ANI
The death toll may increase as a few other persons are missing and efforts are on to find them out.
At least seven people were killed in an inferno in a multi-storeyed building in Kolkata, which houses zonal offices of Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway on Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
Two more persons were also feared dead, said Banerjee who has gone to the spot.
The property belongs to railways, it s their responsibility but they were unable to provide map of building. I don t want to do politics over the tragedy but no one from railways has come here: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at #kolkatafire incident site last night pic.twitter.com/KCaRyZgpWy ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2021
Mamata said: “This is a railway building. They have some responsibility. I don t want to politicise an accident, but it is unfortunate that no one from the railway department has come.”
“I have also been told by my minister that the fire officials had asked for a map of the building for easier access but received no cooperation.”
She later said a single railway official had turned up.
As the night wore on, teary-eyed relatives of some of the missing began arriving.
State fire minister Sujit Bose, Calcutta police commissioner Soumen Mitra, director-general of fire and emergency services Jawed Shamim, Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim and other senior state government officials were at the spot.
At least 20 fire tenders and two hydraulic ladders were pressed into service to douse the blaze at the building which also has a computerised ticket booking centre on the ground floor.
Kolkata building fire: Nine including four firefighters, cop dead; railways orders probe
The blaze broke out at the New Koilaghat building, which is shared by the Eastern Railway and the South Eastern Railway, Eastern Railway spokesman Kamal Deo Das said.
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Fire breaks out at the 13th floor of a multi-storeyed building in Kolkata, Monday, March 8, 2021. (Photo | PTI) By Online Desk
KOLKATA: Nine persons, including four firefighters, a railway official, an RPF constable and an assistant sub-inspector of Kolkata police died in a fire that broke out on the 13th floor of a multi-storeyed building in Kolkata on Monday night.