Death toll in Kolkata warehouse collapse rises to 16

A view of the site where a shed of an under-construction warehouse collapsed in Taratala, Kolkata. | Photo credit: ANI

As five more workers died in the Taratala warehouse collapse in Kolkata, the death toll rose to 16 on Friday (June 26, 2026). Three people rescued from the accident site on Friday morning were declared brought dead at the hospital. Two workers succumbed to their injuries at the state-run health facility in the last 24 hours.

According to the police, 33 people were rescued from the accident site, of which 16 workers died and 17 are being treated in a state-run medical facility.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the accident, including the tenant of the land on which the warehouse was built, a structural engineer and former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim’s former Officer on Special Duty (OSD).

Rescue operations are being carried out at the site of the accident by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel who are trying to find any signs of life in the wreckage. The equipment of the Indian Railways is also used and the personnel of the Indian Army participate in the rescue work. A senior NDRF officer said the accident area has been analyzed and three specific areas have been identified where “aggressive cutting” of debris will occur.

“Rescue operations are going on. NDRF is leading the rescue operation. They are trying their best and hope that if the weather is good they can complete the rescue work by tonight,” the chief minister said on Friday.

Mr. Adhikari also said that the Kolkata Police Commissioner is overseeing the investigation and the state government has decided to blacklist the architect, designer and surveying firm involved in the project.

On Thursday (June 25), the Chief Minister announced the suspension of all ongoing commercial construction projects in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area and adjoining areas, adding that construction plans in these areas would undergo a comprehensive audit. Mr. Adhikari said a high-level committee headed by IAS officer Rajesh Pandey has been constituted for the purpose and will be presented in seven days.

At 12:07 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24, the roof of a warehouse under construction collapsed, leaving several workers buried in the rubble. The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Authority leased the land to a private operator to construct a warehouse.

Local residents claimed that over 40 workers were working at the construction site at the time of the accident, although police said there was no record of how many workers were on site when the structure collapsed.

The chief minister, who said the plan to build the warehouse was flawed, blamed the accident on the “sins of the previous Trinamool Congress regime”. The incident also raised questions about the role played by former city mayor Firhad Hakim, who joined the Trinamool rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee. Loyalists of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and a section of the BJP leadership have raised a demand for the former mayor’s arrest.

Published – 26 Jun 2026 15:25 IST