At least three people were killed and more than 30 were left injured after the chimney of a brick kiln in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district collapsed on them on Wednesday. Police officials told news agency PTI that the incident took place in the evening at Dhaltitah village in Basirhat while the kiln was in operation. A team of police officials have already been deployed at the scene to carry out the rescue operations.
The deceased were identified as Jethuram and Rakesh Kumar of Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad and the third was identified as Hafizul Mondal.
A police official told PTI, "All those injured in the accident are workers of the brick kiln. One person died while undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital, while two bodies were found from under the debris."
"Around 20 people are undergoing treatment at the Basirhat Hospital. Two injured persons were sent to the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata as their condition was very critical," the official added.
The official further stated that the cause of the chimney collapse is not known yet, however, it will be investigated.
A similar incident happened last year in December in Assam. At least five people, including a 12-year-old child, lost their lives and six others got injured after the chimney of a brick kiln collapsed on them in Cachar district, as reported by news agency ANI. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.
The incident took place in the Kalain area in the Katigora Assembly constituency, about 29 km from Silchar town in the Cachar district. Khalil Uddin Mazumder, MLA from Katigora Assembly constituency told ANI, "Few people died and many others were injured in the incident. We referred the injured persons to a hospital. Locals are also engaged in rescue operations. Firefighters also reached the spot and doused the flames. I personally called the Principal of Silchar Medical College and Hospital, requesting him to provide proper treatment to the injured persons."