Locked emergency exits on every floor, an absent staff member with the keys to the locked doors, and an allegedly defunct fire-fighting system were the primary reasons eight people were killed in the fire that broke out at a hotel in West Bengal’s pilgrimage town, Tarapith, early on Monday, officials said.
Police and fire brigade officials found the victims’ bodies on staircases and in the corridors.
“Those who went out into the corridors and tried to escape through the staircase got trapped. Most of the dead bodies were found on the first floor. Those who locked themselves in their rooms and went to the balconies were rescued later with ladders,” said a police officer.
Officials said there were emergency exits on each floor that led to a staircase at the rear end of the building. “But they were all locked. The staff who had the keys was also not there. Had they been open, more people could have survived,” said a senior officer of Rampurhat sub-division, who rushed to the spot.
“All the floors had emergency exits leading to an external stair case. They were found to be locked,” Kaushik Chowdhury, state fire and emergency services minister told HT.
{{/usCountry}}“All the floors had emergency exits leading to an external stair case. They were found to be locked,” Kaushik Chowdhury, state fire and emergency services minister told HT.
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Officials said that they spotted fire extinguishers inside the hotel. “We are checking whether the hotel had a proper fire-fighting system in place. Investigation is going on,” said Chowdhury.
Guests alleged that the fire alarm system did not work when the fire broke out. Many hoteliers learned about the fire when they heard screams and people shouting.
“We never heard any alarm. There was a power cut and it was totally dark. There was smoke all over and fire in the corridor. There was no water from the sprinklers. There were no hotel staff to operate the fire extinguisher,” said Biswanath Saha, a survivor.
“We locked ourselves in the bathroom. We opened the windows so that we could breathe and turned on the shower. The police rescued us after around 45 minutes,” said Tapanjyoti Mondal, who went there with his wife, mother, two children and sisters.