Kolkata market fire: At least 21 persons were killed and six others injured in a major fire that broke out early on February 28 at the Surya Sen market in Kolkata. Most of the victims were trapped inside as the grille gates of the building were locked. State Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Ahmed Javed Khan said the market was illegally constructed and action would be taken against its owners. Photo: PTI
Uttarakhand flash floods: On June 16, flash floods set off by a cloudburst swept away several thousand villages and pilgrims in the hill state. Unregulated construction in the ecologically fragile region alongwith rampant dam-building, pushed the state to the edge of disaster where the final count of dead remains only an estimated 5700 since many were swept away or buried by mudslides. The picture shows the worst hit Kedarnath shrine, where nearly 600 bodies were found. Photo: AP
Secunderabad Hotel collapse: Hotel City Light collapsed on July 8 around 6.30 a.m killing 18 persons and leaving 16 seriously injured. A case was registered against the hotel owner for constructing a brick kiln neside the hotel, which weakened the structure. Photo: Mahesh Kumar A.
Rajya Rani Express accident – 28 pilgrims were crushed to death by a speeding train at Dhamara Ghat station in Bihar’s Khagaria district, on August 20. The pilgrims who had alighted from a passenger train on the wrong side of the tracks, were in the path of the on-coming Rajya Rani Express. An irate crowd then set the train on fire. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge maintained that it was the failure of the train driver to sight the people on the tracks. Photo: PTI
Vizag HPCL fire - Twenty-four people died and 39 others were injured, with most sustaining serious burns, when a major blast led to the collapse of an under-construction cooling tower at the HPCL’s Visakh Refinery on August 24. Officials are still unable to ascertain the cause of the major industrial accident. Photo: K.R. Deepak
Mumbai building collapse – Fifty-four persons were killed when a four-storey building in south Mumbai collapsed on September 22. The 33-year-old building at Dockyard Road was owned by Mumbai’s municipal corporation, which is meant to monitor weak buildings. Seven Municipal Corporation officers responsible for its maintenance were suspended. Photo: Vivek Bendre
Haveri Volvo bus fire: 45 people, including an infant, were burnt to death when a luxury Volvo bus caught fire after hitting a culvert on the Bangalore-Hyderabad national highway on October 31. Investigations revealed that the driver was over-speeding after working multiple shifts. Photo: PTI
Vizag railway accident - On 2 November, rumours of a fire on a compartment of the Bokaro Express sparked panic and some passengers jumped out on to the adjacent track, right in front of the approaching Rayagada- Visakhapatnam- Vijayawada Passenger train. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
Anantapur train fire: 26 persons were killed on December 28, when an AC coach of the Bangalore City-Nanded Express caught fire. Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said it was an electrical short circuit near the AC unit that caused the fire and that stringent action would be taken against those responsible for the safety lapse. Photo: AP
