KOLKATA: The death toll from a collapsed flyover in eastern India rose to 25 on Friday, after emergency workers toiled through the night to find any remaining survivors trapped under huge slabs of concrete and metal girders.
But emergency authorities said there was little hope of finding any more survivors after pulling almost 100 people from under the rubble of the road that collapsed onto a busy street in Kolkata on Thursday, crushing cars and pedestrians.
"The rescue operation will not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders have been cleared," said deputy police commissioner Akhilesh Chaturvedi as he announced the toll had risen to 25.
"Nearly 300 rescuers, including army and disaster management personnel, are working around the clock to clear the rubble."
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) however said there was little hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble of the flyover, which had been under construction since 2009.
It was unclear what caused the sudden collapse, but police have registered a preliminary case against the contractor.
The state government, which is fighting for re-election in a vote that starts on Monday, pledged to take action against those found responsible.
Survivors being treated at a nearby hospital described how tonnes of metal and concrete came crashing down onto the busy street without warning.
"The flyover collapsed in front of me. When I tried to escape, I was hit," said housewife Sabita Devi.
Hospital manager Sitaram Agarwal said many people were being treated for head and leg injuries sustained in the disaster.
But authorities initially struggled to get cranes and other large machinery through the narrow streets of Burrabazar, one of the oldest and most congested parts of the city.
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