At least seven people in uniform, including four fire brigade officials, died when the thirteenth floor office of the Eastern Railways at Strand Road in north-eastern Kolkata caught fire on Monday, State Government sources said. The fire was detected inside the Koilaghat office — situated by the Hooghly River — of the Eastern Railways at around 6.15 pm.
The State Government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for victims’family. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Railway authorities of “not cooperating with the State officials” in controlling the fire. “It is a Railway property. I do not want to politicise it,” she said.