Kolkata, West Bengal: A devastating fire at two adjoining godowns in Anandapur’s Nazirabad area near Ruby Crossing has claimed at least 16 lives, with many more still missing as of Wednesday, January 28, 2026, authorities said.
The blaze, which broke out in the early hours of Monday around 3 am, gutted warehouses used by Pushpanjali Decorators and a unit leased by the popular fast-food chain of Momo Factory. Rescue operations and forensic identification efforts continued amid deepening anguish among families awaiting news of missing workers.
Fire officials and police have attributed the catastrophe to gross fire safety lapses and lack of formal clearances, and the incident has prompted arrests, compensation announcements, and a high-stakes investigation into compliance failures.
Warehouse Blaze: Rescue, Identification Underway
The inferno, fed by highly inflammable materials stored inside the structures, intensified rapidly, leaving workers trapped inside with few means of escape. Officials recovered 16 charred bodies as of Tuesday night, with estimates suggesting that 25–30 more workers remain unaccounted for and feared dead.
Forensic teams are grappling with a daunting identification process. Due to the extreme heat and extensive burning, many remains have been reduced to fragments or ashes, making DNA profiling exceptionally difficult and time-consuming. Experts are now relying on resilient sources like bone marrow and teeth to extract genetic samples, a process fraught with delays and uncertainties amid contamination risks.
Relatives of the missing have been arriving from afar some from East and West Midnapore districts and camping at the site in deep distress. Many recount their last contacts with loved ones, who were among the approximately 34 workers sleeping in the Pushpanjali godown and three at the adjoining Momo Factory facility when the fire erupted. “Our boys came here to earn a living, not to disappear into ash,” said one relative, reflecting the collective anguish felt by families still waiting for closure.
Safety Lapses, Arrests And Allegations
State Urban Development Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim announced a compensation package of ₹10 lakh for the family of each deceased or missing worker, underscoring the government’s attempt to provide immediate relief. Authorities have also deployed officials to assist families with documentation and coordination efforts.
Meanwhile, Narendrapur police arrested warehouse owner Gangadhar Das, who owned the land on which both godowns were built. He faces charges of negligence leading to death. Police have also registered further cases against the owners of the Momo Factory warehouse, though no one from the company has been arrested so far.
Fire Minister Sujit Bose, who inspected the site on Tuesday, stressed that neither warehouse had mandatory fire safety clearances nor adequate firefighting infrastructure, making the units ill-prepared for emergencies. Bose said legal action would be taken against all responsible parties.
However, Momo Factory has pushed back on assertions that the fire started in its leased warehouse. Company representatives said that the blaze originated in the adjacent decorators’ facility, and that their unit was stocked with fire extinguishers and compliant with safety protocols.
They also noted that all three employees inside the Momo Factory warehouse at the time perished, including a security guard. Momo Factory has stated it is cooperating fully with the investigation and will support victims’ families.
The conflicting claims have added complexity to the official probe, with authorities now scrutinising both facilities’ fire safety records and any lapses in audits, approvals, or enforcement.
Human Cost and Worker Safety
As rescue teams painstakingly comb through debris slowed by collapsed roofs and lingering heat pockets the human tragedy has unfolded starkly. Many of the workers killed or missing were migrants from rural districts, who had come to Kolkata seeking livelihood opportunities and were sleeping on site when the fire broke out. The loss has left entire families in shock and uncertainty, highlighting broader issues of labour rights, workplace safety, and accountability in informal and semi-formal industrial spaces.
The identification process, slowed by forensic challenges, has further compounded families’ suffering. Officials are urging relatives to provide DNA samples, but the emotional toll and anxiety of waiting for definitive answers have weighed heavily on affected communities.
The tragedy has also sparked wider scrutiny of regulatory oversight in industrial zones, particularly for warehouses and godowns that store flammable goods without proper clearances or safety infrastructure. Critics have questioned how these units operated for long periods without detection and what systemic lapses enabled such vulnerability.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The Anandapur fire tragedy is more than a news event it is a stark reminder of the human cost of systemic negligence, regulatory gaps, and the devaluation of worker safety in informal employment settings. While compensation and arrests are necessary first steps, they cannot replace meaningful reforms that ensure compliance with safety standards, regular audits, and proactive enforcement that genuinely protect lives, not just paperwork.
This disaster underscores the urgent need for transparent governance and accountability at every level from local authorities to industry players so that workplaces honour the dignity and safety of those who depend on them for a livelihood.
