Jamuria Chimney Collapse, Asansol: Four Workers Killed at Sponge Iron Plant; Cause Under Investigation

What happened

On the night of Saturday, 17 October 2026, which was Maha Saptami of Durga Puja, a chimney that was still being built collapsed at a private sponge iron plant in Jamuria, near Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal. Several workers were on night duty at the time. Five were pulled out of the rubble. Doctors declared four of them dead, and the fifth, who was seriously injured, was admitted to a private hospital in Durgapur. This is according to ETV Bharat (English, Bengali and Hindi editions), Daijiworld and Sangbad Pratidin.

ETV Bharat names the site as Unit 3 of the Shyam SEL sponge iron factory. Sangbad Pratidin and KTV Bangla place it in the Ikra industrial area, near Gate No. 3 of the Shyam SEL factory and close to the Sarthakpur crematorium. A report by UNI describes the structure as part of an under-construction captive power plant, and KNews Odisha calls it a power plant run by Shyam SEL and Power Limited. We have not seen any document that settles whether the chimney served the sponge iron line or its power section, so we describe it only as an under-construction chimney at the plant.

The exact time is not given in the reports we opened. Most say “night”. Aajkaal and the Hindi channel Purvi Khabar say the evening of Maha Saptami, and Aajkaal’s first report, put up at 11.27 p.m. on 17 October, said two workers had died and others were trapped. Later reports raised the figure to four. According to ETV Bharat, workers heard a loud crash and began rescue before the police, the fire brigade and disaster response teams arrived.

The people

Four workers died and one was seriously injured. ETV Bharat, Daijiworld and News4Nation name two of the dead as residents of Jamuria and say a third, according to colleagues, was from Assam; the fourth had not been identified when those reports were written. We are not printing names. Please see the official list when the police or the district administration release it.

One small difference exists on where the four died. KNews Odisha says three died at the site and one in hospital, while the other reports say five were brought out and doctors declared four dead. No report gives the chimney height, the number of people working on it or the nature of the work in progress.

Response and investigation

Factory workers started the rescue. Police, the fire brigade and the state disaster management force took over and the operation ran late into the night; according to Sangbad Pratidin, the search resumed in the morning to make sure no one else was trapped. Jamuria MLA Dr Bijan Mukherjee and Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissioner Pranab Kumar reached the site that night.

Jamuria police have started an investigation. As ETV Bharat and Daijiworld report it, they are looking at who was in charge of the construction, whether precautions were taken while the chimney was being built, and what safety arrangements existed for the workers. The reports we opened do not name a contractor and do not say whether an FIR has been registered. The factory had not given a detailed statement when those reports were filed.

The MLA’s statements are reported differently. A summary on Indian Opinion, which cites NDTV and Sambad English, says he ruled out negligence and called the company reputed; ETV Bharat and Daijiworld say he said the cause and any negligence in safety would be examined. News4Nation quotes him as saying the company is well known and its workers are trained, and notes that locals criticised a remark he made about the deaths coming on the day of Saptami. He also said the cause was being examined and that he would talk to the management about compensation and treatment.

Protest. Residents, family members and some workers gathered outside the factory and protested about safety standards. ETV Bharat and Daijiworld report a scuffle between protesters and the police, and ETV Bharat Bangla adds that journalists were stopped from filming inside.

Compensation (unconfirmed). English reports say only that compensation would be discussed. Sangbad Pratidin and KTV Bangla report that after a meeting between administration officials and the factory management it was decided to give Rs 20 lakh to each family of the dead, a job to one member of each family and Rs 1 lakh straight away for the last rites. KTV Bangla does not say who announced it, and we found no official release or English report confirming these figures, so please treat them as reported, not confirmed.

The same night, a separate crowd crush at a Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata killed 19 people; the two events are unrelated, and our report on that is here.

Why this matters

The cause has not been established, so we are not saying what failed. What we can say is why an unfinished tall structure needs special care. While a chimney or a tower is going up, it is held up by temporary works: formwork, scaffolding, props and supports that are meant to carry the load until the permanent structure is strong enough. The order in which the work is done, and the time given for concrete to gain strength before supports are removed or the next lift is loaded, is as important as the design itself. Many workers are often below and around a shaft that is still rising, including at night, when it is harder to see a warning sign.

Other incidents that we have covered show the same pattern in other kinds of structure: an unfinished building at Ambala, a construction collapse at Kudasan and a temporary lighting truss at Hyderabad. The cause in each case was different, but each time people were underneath something that was not yet finished or not yet proven.

Lessons

• Keep an exclusion zone under and around tall work. Nobody who is not part of the lift or pour should be inside the fall zone of a structure under construction. Rest areas, tea stalls and tool stores do not belong there.
• Treat temporary works as safety-critical. Formwork, props and scaffolds should be designed, checked and signed off by a competent person before loading, and checked again after rain, wind or any change in loading.
• Do not rush the sequence. Concrete needs time to gain strength; removing supports or loading the next lift early is a known way to bring down a structure. A festival deadline is not a reason to shorten this.
• Plan work at height properly. Safety harnesses with secure anchor points, helmets, edge protection and a rescue plan should be in place before anyone climbs. See our guide to PPE in the Indian workplace.
• Contractors need clear supervision. There should be a named site engineer and safety officer on every shift, including night shifts and holidays, and the principal employer should know exactly who is working under which contractor.
• Workers and families: ask and write down. Ask who your employer and your supervisor are, whether you have been given a safety induction, and what the rule is if you see a crack, a sway or a loose support. Keep a photo of your identity card, your gate pass or attendance record and the contractor’s name. If something looks wrong, tell the supervisor and a colleague, and step back from the area.
• If a structure falls, do not rush in. Call 112, the single emergency number. Dial 101 for the fire service and 108 for an ambulance; 108 is the national ambulance number, but the service and the response differ from state to state, so if it does not connect, use 112. Keep the road clear for fire engines and ambulances. Untrained people entering the debris can be hurt by further falls. Our guide on which emergency number to call explains the numbers.
• Families after an accident. Ask for the FIR number, the post-mortem report and the company’s written compensation decision, and keep copies. If the hospital or the employer will not give them, approach the police station and, if needed, a local trade union or a legal aid centre.

What is still not known

It is not known why the chimney collapsed, how tall it was, what stage of construction it had reached, who the contractor was, how many people were working on or near it, or whether an FIR has been registered. The compensation figures above are reported by two Bengali outlets only. We found no report dated 19 to 21 October with any new figure or finding, so this page reflects reporting up to 18 October. We will update it when the police, the administration or the company publish an official statement.