5 dead in Kolkata cinema collapse

By Malabika Bhattacharjee

KOLKATA, SEPT. 10. Five persons were feared killed and over a dozen seriously injured when a large porch of a central Kolkata cinema hall collapsed this evening.

The Police and civic officials, working through the debris in search of survivors, said the porch of Society Cinema near Kolkata Municipal Corporation headquarters on S.N. Banerjee Road came down trapping scores of men, women and children, who had taken shelter under it from blinding rain.

The decrepit cinema, nearly 60 years old, is situated in one of Kolkata's most congested neighbourhoods known for the sprawling New Market, other plazas, movie houses and restaurants.

Minutes after the collapse, police and civic officials reached the spot to mount the rescue operation which was hamstrung by rain and the debris which proved difficult to remove even with the help of cranes. Five were declared dead on arrival at hospital.

A control room has been opened at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to oversee the rescue operation through the night.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : 'We prefer water to tea'
Next     : Is Masood dead?