CM Mamata supervises rescue work till late at night

Banerjee who was scheduled to address a political meeting in Danton got the news of the collapse of the flyover and rushed to the spot in a helicopter.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government ordered a high-level probe into the tragedy 

It may be recalled that in similar manner she had supervised the rescue work during the tragic incident of AMRI Hospital fire four years ago in which 93 people were killed. She had stayed back at the site till the injured patients were taken to hospitals.

On Thursday she reached the spot and chose a corner of a pavement on Rabindra Sarani where she camped along with Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, Youth Affairs minister Aroop Biswas, Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee and Home Secretary Malay Dey.

The first task she did soon after reaching the spot is to request people to co-operate with the personnel to carry out the rescue work. She urged them to keep the roads clear for easy movement of cranes and ambulances. She had words with the top brass of the Kolkata Police including the Commissioner of police Rajeev Kumar and directed them to deploy officers to help people to get information about their near and dear ones. Control rooms have been set up following her directions. At the same time camps have been set up at the spot where people can contact for information. She said that Indian Army has been asked to join the rescue work and more cranes will be deployed.

She also urged the senior police officers to deploy policemen to note down the details of the injured people including their names and address properly so that their family members can be contacted. Police were also asked to take the photographs of all the deceased as it would help in their identification and the bodies can be handed over to the family members. She asked the police to help relatives of the missing people in all possible ways to help them get information about their dear ones.

Assessing the requirement of more senior officers at the spot, Banerjee contacted Surajit Kar Purakayastha, DG and IGP of the Criminal Investigation Department and asked him to come to the spot along with some other senior police officers. She has also directed the health secretary to send some doctors to the spot so that they can provide emergency medication to those rescued on way to hospital.

In the afternoon only, Banerjee alerted the senior police officers that there should be problem in carrying out the rescue operations after sunset due to shortage of light and asked them to fit flood lights at the spot. She also directed to ensure sufficient supply of water for the personnel who would be carrying out the rescue work.