Two workers were killed and a third one was injured when the stairs of an overhead water reservoir collapsed in Cooch Behar on Wednesday morning.

The reservoir, which is 15 years old, is at Daspara in Chakchaka panchayat of Cooch Behar 2 block. Recently, the state PHE department had assigned the task of repairing and cleaning the tank to a contractor, who in turn awarded the job to a subcontractor.

“The person who got the sub-contract engaged four workers for the job. Today, they reached near the reservoir. One of them stayed back while three others started climbing the iron staircase to reach the reservoir. Suddenly, the staircase collapsed and they fell on the ground from a height of around 100 feet,” Shyamal Karjee, deputy chief of the local panchayat, said.

The three workers were taken to a private nursing home that is nearby. There, doctors pronounced two of them dead. The third person is under treatment in a critical condition.

The victims were Ziarul Hossain, 48, and Madan Gupta, 40. Bachchu Barman, the third, is under treatment.

A section of local people alleged that there was a lapse on the part of the contractor. “He should have checked the old staircase before letting the workers use it to reach the top of the reservoir,” said a resident.

Partha Pratim Roy, the chairman of the NBSTC, the sabhapati of Cooch Behar 2 panchayat samiti, and Sukumar Roy, the BJP MLA of Cooch Behar North, visited the spot.

“It is an unfortunate incident. We have spoken to officials of the state PHE department. The administration is conducting an inquiry into the incident. We are with the bereaved families,” said Partha.