Kolkata flyover collapse claims 18 lives, and a loophole in security

• At least 18 people lost their lives and more than 60 were left injured after an under construction bridge collapsed on a congested road intersection in Kolkata. The incident comes as a big embarrassment for Trinamool Congress (TMC) during a time when the state goes for polls in less than 2 weeks.

Kolkata : WATCH CCTV FOOTAGE UPLOADED BY 24GHANTA ON YOUTUBE

[@ADDVIDEO@https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdQrA_as79Y]

• CCTV footage showed people, cars, autorickshaws and hawkers buried under the collapsed structure, while some trying to flee the spot were also trapped.

• A high-level probe has been ordered by the government after opposition came out banging and accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of callousness.

• However, Trinamool Congress has put the blame on previous Left government, under whom the construction of the bridge had started.

• "It is nothing but God's act," claimed Panduranga Rao of the Hyderabad-based IVRCL Construction company engaged in the flyover's construction.

• The police sealed the local office of the IVRCL and registered a case against the company under section 304,308 and 407 of the IPC.

• Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the spot cutting short her election campaign, said, "Stringent action will be taken against officials of the construction company and others involved."