Kolkata: At least 14 samples of human remains were sent for forensic analysis on Monday to ascertain the number and identities of those killed in a massive fire that gutted two warehouses and an adjacent three-storey building at Nazirabad near Kolkata, police said.
“We have sent 14 exhibits, including skulls, bones and mangled remains of human bodies which were charred beyond recognition, to the forensic laboratory for analysis. Given the condition of the human remains, it is difficult to estimate the body count without forensic analysis. It could be that two exhibits belong to one person,” an officer from the Baruipur police district said.
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The deadly fire, which broke out in the early hours of Monday, has killed at least three people, while as many as 27 people remain missing till Wednesday. Some of those missing had called their families, saying they were trapped in a fire at the warehouse. Four people managed to escape from the inferno.
“We have received at least 27 missing complaints from families who claimed that their kin worked in the warehouses and were staying there on Sunday night. Those are being verified,” the officer said.
The officer said that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will collect DNA samples from the kin of the missing persons. “The DNA of the family members would be collected to match them with the body parts we have recovered. We have already got the approval of the court. We will ensure that the DNA matching is done at the earliest so that the remains could be handed over to the families,” the officer added.
Police officers said the fire broke out around 3 am in one warehouse and soon spread to the adjacent one. While one was a fast-food chain warehouse, the other belonged to a decorator. Inflammable items were stored in both warehouses, firefighters said.
Also read: 3 dead, 13 missing in deadly Bengal fire that gutted 2 godowns
It took around 10 hours for 12 fire tenders to bring the flames under control, with five tenders continuing to fight the fire in pockets throughout Tuesday. Clearing of debris and rescue operations continued on Wednesday as well.
“All legal steps are being taken. The warehouses didn’t have fire safety clearance. Proper alarm systems and firefighting mechanisms were not installed in the warehouses,” said a senior fire department official.
Gangadhar Das, owner of Pushpanjali Decorators and one of the warehouses, was arrested on Tuesday and produced before the court on Wednesday. The court sent him to police custody for three days.
The state government has announced compensation of ₹10 lakh to each family that lost a member in the fire.
