Kolkata, Dec 14 (IANS): Four persons were reportedly killed and 35 others severely injured following the collapse of a chimney at a brick kiln at Basirhat in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, said officials.

The incident happened on Wednesday night when the workers of the said factory were making an attempt to light fire in the chimney which was inoperative for quite some time, a local police official said. While two persons were killed on the spot, the third person died early Thursday morning.

The bodies of the three killed in the mishap have been shifted for post-mortem purposes. The injured are currently under the treatment at a local hospital. The condition of five of the injured persons was extremely critical, the local police official said.

The initial rescue operations were started by the local people. The cops of the local police stations and the state government rescue team reached the spot. The rescue operations continued till early Thursday morning.

Only two of the three deceased workers have been identified. While one of them is Hafizul Mondal (34), a local resident, the other is Rakesh Kumar (39), a resident of Uttar Pradesh, who came to West Bengal to work as a migrant worker. The identity of the third labourer killed in the mishap is yet to be identified.

The police have started an investigation in the matter. The probe is mainly relating to whether there were lapses in the maintenance of the chimney and other vital installations in the brick kiln.

The local people have been complaining that several brick kilns were operating in the area illegally where the minimum safety measures for the workers were not adopted.