Accident claims one life in Howrah’s Belilious Park

A 23-year-old woman was killed and her sister was injured when a capsule of a ride went off its arm while it was in full swing and fell on a concrete pathway in Belilious Park in Central Howrah on Sunday evening.

Police said the victims were residents of Belur in Howrah and this is the first time they came to visit the park on Sunday evening.

Neha Singh, who used to assist her father in their event management business, was declared brought dead when taken to Howrah District Hospital.

Her elder sister Sneha Singh, who got married a few months ago, received severe injuries and was admitted to Howrah District Hospital.

Sneha was later shifted to Command Hospital, where she is fighting for her life.

Two persons can get accommodated in one capsule of the ride that swings round at a high speed and at the same time moves up vertically. An eye witness told the police that Neha and Sneha were sitting in the same capsule that went off the arm and fell on the ground.

The capsule went off when they were at a height of a few feet from the ground. Moreover, the capsule fell on a concrete pathway. The other capsules remained intact with the four other arms in the ride. But no one took the risk of riding it again.

It was alleged that security personnel present at the spot didn’t take much initiative to take the girls for necessary treatment. Other visitors came forward hearing the victims’ father Raj Kumar Singh’s cry for help.

They approached some policemen standing nearby for help and took the girls to Howrah District Hospital.

A police officer said that no complaint has been lodged yet in this connection. The ride has been closed for the time being. Preliminary investigation revealed that a portion of the iron arm in which the capsule was hanging had been damaged and it led to the incident.

The park authorities claimed that there used to be proper maintenance of the swing and they would find out the exact reason behind the accident.

It may be mentioned that this is not the first time when an accident took place in the park. Earlier, a person was severely injured when rope of another ride in the park had snapped and another person had committed suicide by jumping into the water body in the park.