Child dead, 9 injured as wall collapses at Topsia

Kolkata: A child died and at least nine persons including a few more children were injured after a portion of a wall measuring about 12 feet wide collapsed on Thursday night in Topsia.

According to police, on Thursday night at around 8 pm, the boundary wall of an abandoned factory collapsed at Topsia Road in Borough VII of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). It collapsed on some local residents, including the children. As a result, all 10 of them got stuck under the debris.

At a stone's throw away from the spot, a political meeting was going on. Hearing the sound of the wall collapsing, people from the gathering rushed to the aid of the injured people. Police and fire brigade were also informed.

Later, fire brigade and Disaster Management Group (DMG) personnel rescued all 10 persons including five children and rushed them to two hospitals. Out of the 10 injured, a 2-year-old boy identified as Saddam was declared brought dead by doctors.

Eight more injured persons including three children were treated and discharged from the same hospital. A 9-month-old infant has been admitted at a private hospital in Mukundapur, where he is still undergoing treatment.

According to local residents, some construction materials were being dumped beside the wall, which had put pressure on the structure.