One more body was recovered from the debris of the Majerhat bridge on Thursday, taking the toll in the collapse to three. The body was identified as that of Goutam Mondal, a labourer working at the nearby Metro Rail construction site.
On Wednesday, the body of Pranab Dey, another labourer who was missing after the collapse of the bridge, was recovered from the debris; while motorist Soumen Bag, a resident of Behala, died at the time of the collapse -- at 4.30 pm on Tuesday. More than 20 people were injured in the accident; a few are in a serious condition.
By Thursday evening, rescue operations at the accident site had been called off but the question remained on the repair of the bridge, which connects the neighbourhood of Behala to the rest of Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who held a meeting of different departments at the State Secretariat, said that the decision on the repair will be taken after the investigation committee headed by Chief Secretary Moloy Kumar De submits its report.
She said there were 20 bridges in the city and suburbs which had outlived their lifespan. “Repairs will be taken up without waste of time,” the Chief Minister said, referring to certain bridges in Santragachi in Howrah district, and Ultadanga and Sealdah in Kolkata. The Chief Minister also made it clear that the State government had not yet taken any decision on the fate of the Vivekananda flyover, which had collapsed in March 2016, killing 27 people. Ms Banerjee said there was no clear advice from experts on whether to complete the structure or to dismantle it.
