16 killed in huge fire at Wow! Momo warehouse in Kolkata, 13 missing

At least 16 charred bodies have been recovered from a massive fire that broke out at a Wow! Momo warehouse and its adjacent godown in Kolkata’s Anandapur area, as authorities continue searching for at least 13 people missing. Emergency services remain on high alert while forensic teams work to identify the remains and provide relief to affected families.

The blaze erupted around 3 am on January 26 in two warehouses located in the Nazirabad area of Anandapur.

One warehouse stored dried flowers, while the other belonged to a quick service restaurant and packaged food company Wow! Momo.

Fire officials said highly combustible materials inside both structures caused the flames to spread rapidly.

Twelve fire tenders rushed to the spot and began firefighting operations.

However, locals said the godown was used to store dry food and packaged items, which may have intensified the blaze.

Even after the fire appeared to be under control from the outside, it continued burning internally due to the large amount of flammable material stored inside.

Police sources noted that charred bone fragments remain within the structure, highlighting the scale of devastation.

Three bodies were recovered on the first day, and an earth moving machine was deployed to clear debris.

By the evening of January 27, eight sets of human remains had been recovered, with eight more bodies found subsequently.

Families of labourers working in the warehouses rushed to the scene after learning of the incident.

Relatives informed police at Narendrapur police station in South 24 Parganas that they were unable to contact their family members as phones were switched off. Later, a complaint was filed regarding the disappearance of 21 labourers.

Four workers managed to escape by calling out to each other during the chaos.

Many of the missing and deceased workers were reportedly residents of the Moyna assembly constituency in Purba Medinipur.

BJP MLA and former cricketer Ashok Dinda claimed that at least 24 labourers from the area were trapped inside the warehouse.

State Minister Aroop Biswas, MP Sainy Ghosh, and Sujit Bose visited the site following the incident.

Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, acting on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s directions, also inspected the area and described it as an extremely tragic incident.

He confirmed that fire department and police officials are investigating the source and cause of the blaze.

Since identifying the bodies remains difficult, authorities are preparing to conduct DNA testing using blood samples from relatives, pending court approval.

Wow! Momo confirmed that it lost two employees and a contracted security guard in the fire.

In a statement, the company said the blaze began at a neighbouring warehouse and quickly spread into one of its godown premises, completely burning down the facility. "This fire engulfed not only our men, but our spirit too."

“As part of its commitment, the company announced a lump-sum compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each affected family, lifetime monthly salary support for the bereaved families and education support for the children of the deceased,” the statement read.

The West Bengal government has also announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each for families of those killed.

Compensation will be provided once identification is confirmed through DNA testing and death certificates are issued.

Fire department officials acknowledged that the warehouses were operating without mandatory fire safety clearance.

Police have registered FIRs against warehouse owners, and one owner, Gangadhar Das, was arrested and remanded to police custody until February 4.

Investigations are continuing to trace the missing and determine accountability.