Not just Kolkata: Seven structures have collapsed every day in the last five years

As many as 13,178 people lost their lives owing to collapse of various structures between 2010 and 2014, according to data compiled by National Crime Records Bureau.

Based on 13,473 such cases between 2010 and 2014, there are an average of seven such incidents every day, Factly.in, a data-journalism portal, reported.

Kolkata witnessed a tragic flyover collapse last Thursday after a part of the under-construction 2.2 km-long Vivekananda Road flyover crashed on the traffic. The death toll rose to 24 on Friday.

The NCRB collates data in its annual report "Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India". Various un-natural causes of death are listed in the report, and collapse of structures is one the causes captured by the NCRB.

In 2010, a total of 2,682 people lost their lives because collapse of structures. The number of deaths rose to 3,161 in 2011, which came down to 2,682 in 2012.

The number of deaths in 2013 was 2,832.

The number of deaths owing to collapse of structures in 2014 was the lowest of the five years at 1,821.

Building collapses

The NCRB categorises data on collapse of structures into five categories. From 2010 to 2014, a total of 4,914 people lost their lives because of the collapse of residential buildings, about 37.3% of the total deaths.

The collapse of commercial buildings resulted in 1,610 deaths.

The collapse of dams and bridges resulted in 124 and 297 deaths, respectively. Collapse of dams and bridges accounted for 3.2% deaths.

The highest number of deaths was because of the collapse of other structures like flyovers. Collapse of other structures resulted in 6,233 deaths or 47.3% of the total deaths.

Most deaths in bigger states

While most deaths owing to collapse of structures took place in the bigger states, the only exception to the trend was West Bengal.

A total of 184 deaths (1.4%) took place in West Bengal from 2010 to 2014.

The highest number of such deaths took place in Uttar Pradesh. From 2010 to 2014, 2,065 people lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh owing to collapse of structures.

As many as 1,343 people lost their lives in Maharashtra, followed by 1,330 in Andhra Pradesh, 1,176 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,154 in Tamil Nadu and 1,067 in Gujarat.

This article first appeared on IndiaSpend, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.