Portion of railway station collapses in Bengal, 5 injured

Four to five persons were injured when a portion of the Burdwan railway station of Eastern Railway in West Bengal collapsed on Saturday evening. Train movement was not affected, a senior official said.

"A portion of the portico beside the enquiry counter close to the main entrance has collapsed. As per prima facie information, one person has been taken to the hospital following injury. Three-four other persons sustained minor injuries and were released after first aid," said Divisional Railway Manager (Howrah) Isha Khan.

A railway rescue team and police have reached the spot. The official said as per prima facie information, no one was buried under the rubble.

"Our personnel there have informed us that no one was trapped in the debris. We are gathering more details to ascertain this. We will remove all the debris to see for sure that no one is there under the rubble," he said.

The railway has ordered an enquiry to know the cause of the mishap which occurred at around 8 p.m.

"I can't say at this stage whether there was any shortcoming in maintenance. That can only be said once the enquiry is over. Our priority now is to undertake rescue," the official said.

He said there was no impact on train movement.

"There is no problem in the platform portion. We have already opened an alternate way for entry and exit of passengers," said Khan, who spoke to the Burdwan district magistrate after the incident.

An Eastern Railway spokesperson told IANS: "Rescue operation is on. Senior officials have reached the site and are taking stock of the rescue operations." IANS