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The Eastern Railway on Tuesday issued a statement claiming that Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and Railway staff were the ones to carry out the initial evacuation. Four railway employees were among the nine killed in the fire.
“In an unfortunate incident, a fire broke out on the 13th floor. RPF and other Railway staff immediately rushed to the 13th floor and evacuated most of the staff present there. At the same time, fire brigade was also informed about the incident. The fire brigade reached the incident site at around 6.30 pm and started operation to control the fire,” read the Eastern Railway’s statement.
The rail division said its officials were present at the spot for “better coordination with the fire brigade and state officials”. It added, “Staff and officers of railway were present to guide the fire brigade to access the affected area of the building. Senior officers of Eastern Railway rushed to the site, including the Additional General Manager/ER and General Manager/ER, and took stock of the situation and guided the RPF and other officials present there for better coordination with the fire brigade and state officials.”
The Railways said the situation was constantly monitored for early relief and rescue operations and the fire was finally extinguished late at night.
“The online ticket booking has started from the early morning today. PRS ticket counters have been operational in six zonal Railways under Kolkata PRS, except a very few locations directly connected with communication network from New Koilaghat Building, which is expected to be restored very soon. Booking of unreserved ticket through UTS counters is normal,” the railway division added.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday visited the site of the accident and extended his condolences to the families of those who died. “It is sad that six of the nine victims were part of the rescue team. There is a need for modernisation of fire and municipal services in Kolkata. It was high time fire services in the state capital were upgraded,” he added.
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