The fire continues to rage at a tannery cum godown in the Tangra area of Kolkata even after 12 hours of firefighting operations, reported news agency ANI quoting a senior official of the fire department. Debtanu Ghosh, divisional fire officer, said that firefighters have not been able to enter the godown due to the presence of some highly inflammable materials inside.
"The fire has not been completely extinguished even after 10 hours as there are some highly inflammable materials in the godown and we are not able to enter inside. Two fire brigade personnel were injured during the dousing operation," ANI quoted Ghosh as saying.
As many as 15 fire tenders were pressed into service after the blaze broke out on Saturday evening and spread to an adjacent building, which, along with several other nearby houses, was evacuated. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
"Our personnel are working on a war footing to douse it. There were chemicals, rexin, and clothes stored inside the building, which helped the fire spread quickly," a fire official said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose told reporters that the narrow lanes have made it difficult for the fire tenders to enter the area. In a video shared by ANI, locals were seen taking water buckets from houses and filling a fire tender after it ran out of water.
{{/usCountry}}Fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose told reporters that the narrow lanes have made it difficult for the fire tenders to enter the area. In a video shared by ANI, locals were seen taking water buckets from houses and filling a fire tender after it ran out of water.
{{/usCountry}}Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, criticised the Mamata Banerjee government over the fire department's struggle in carrying out the rescue operation.
"Egiye Bangla in disastrous Disaster Management. Shame shame @MamataOfficial. The Fire & Emergency Services Department's efficiency has gone down during your tenure," Adhikari tweeted.
"Egiye Bangla" (Bengal surges ahead) is the official website of the state government.
(With inputs from agencies)