At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a hotel in central Kolkata in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.
“In all nine persons have died. The dead includes six males, two females and a child. No one has been injured. We are yet to ascertain the identities,” Praween Prakash, deputy commissioner of police (central division) in Kolkata, told HT.
According to fire brigade, the fire broke out in a hotel, a five-storey building on 15H Mirza Ghalib Street, around 2 am. Four fire tenders were pressed into action. The fire was doused after a few hours.
“It was a five-storey building at 15H Mirza Ghalib Street. We rescued more than 60 persons. They were unscathed. At least nine people were found in an unconscious state. They were rushed to the hospital,” said a fire brigade officer.
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Hotel had only one entry and exit
All nine were declared dead by the doctors in the hospital. According to sources the fire broke out in the second flood of the Shikha Inn hotel. Survivors said that the hotel had only one entrance and exit. There were no emergency exits.
{{/usCountry}}All nine were declared dead by the doctors in the hospital. According to sources the fire broke out in the second flood of the Shikha Inn hotel. Survivors said that the hotel had only one entrance and exit. There were no emergency exits.
{{/usCountry}}“I came with my friend. It was a very dangerous situation and I really don’t know how we escaped. There was no fire-alarm or fire-fighting system. Some have died,” Amirul Hossain, a guest from Tarapith in Birbhum district, told the media.
“I was alerted by a friend. I reached around 2:30 am. By then the fire brigade had started the fire fighting. People were being rescued and some were brought out in an unconscious state,” said a local resident.
‘Hotels running illegally’: BJP leader
Police said that the area is under the New Market police station and there are several hotels on Mirza Ghalib Street, Marquis Street and Free School Street among others. It is frequented by foreigners including Bangladeshis.
“Most of the hotels in this area are running illegally. They don’t have firefighting mechanism. They don’t follow any rules and regulations. We have told multiple times. Some don’t even have licenses. Inside there are illegal constructions. Residential buildings are turned into commercial spaces overnight. The police station and fire brigade station are at a stone’s throw,” said Santosh Pathak, BJP leader.
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari is likely to reach the spot.
Hotel fire in Bengal's Tarapith
This comes just two days after a fire in a hotel at Tarapith, a temple town in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, killed nine persons, including two children. Among the dead five were from Meghalaya and four were from West Bengal. Two persons have been arrested.
ALSO READ | 5 Meghalaya tourists among 8 dead in West Bengal hotel fire, ‘emergency exits were locked’
The blaze was suspected to have been triggered by a short circuit, officials said.