A portion of the old rail overbridge at Majerhat in southern fringes of the city collapsed this evening. A number of vehicles are trapped under the bridge. Unofficial sources claim at least five people have died while nine are injured. They have been rushed to the state-run SSKM Hospital.

Evacuation of cargo from the port is expected to be disrupted as the rail line connects Kolkata dock system of the Kolkata Port Trust. Train movement along the south sub-urban route will also be affected, sources said.

“We have ordered a probe and asked the city police to prepare a report on the matter. Rescue work is on and we are monitoring the situation. The death toll is not yet known. Even one death is unfortunate. We will take all necessary steps in this regard,” West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee said, who is currently in Darjeeling for an administrative meeting.

This is the second overbridge to collapse in the city in the last two years. In 2016, an under-construction flyover in north Kolkata collapsed leading to the death of 21 people.

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