Kolkata: Stephen Court fire toll rises to 34

The toll in the Stephen Court fire in Kolkata rose to 34 as one more body was found under the rubbles in the fifth floor of the fire-raged building.

Fire brigade sources said the decomposed body was recovered from under the debris in the fifth floor and it has been sent to the SSKM Hospital for postmortem.

"The charred body is beyond recognition and we cannot say even whether it is male or female," the sources said.

Meanwhile, a family from Jharkhand has lodged a complaint with the police, saying a member of it has been missing from Tuesday, the day the fire broke out.

The family said in the complaint lodged last night that Vineet came to the city to appear in an examination at Stephen Court on that day and did not return.

Following this complaint, the number of missing persons relating to the fire rose to three.

"There is every possibility that some bodies are still there under the debris. But the condition of the bodies is very bad. The bodies cannot be pulled out unless the entire debris is cleared," said a senior police officer.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation workers working round the clock have to be very careful in clearing the debris and that was why it was taking so much time, a KMC official said.