Jetty collapse toll rises to five, 4 held

Death toll in the jetty collapse in the Hooghly river at Bhadreswar in Hooghly district rose to five and four persons were arrested today.
Superintendent of Police Sukesh Jain said that the toll mounted to five after bodies of two women were recovered.
Three persons got drowned and around 12 others had gone missing after a portion of a bamboo jetty in the Hooghly river gave way under the impact of a high tide yesterday.
Jain said that four persons, all lease holders of the jetty, were arrested and booked under various IPC Sections like 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 280 (rash navigation of vessel).

Jain said that local people told the police that the jetty had been in bad shape and needed repair.
Soil test for the repair work had also been done, he said.

Meanwhile, 20 boats of disaster management department searched both banks of the river from Serampore to Tribeni, a stretch of around 30 km, for bodies.
The Hooghly district administration has opened a camp at the affected Telenipara ghat where missing complaint of 12 persons were registered.
The accident occurred when the passengers were waiting at the bamboo jetty at Telenipara for boarding a launch to cross the river and reach Shyamnagar in North 24 Parganas district.