Home · World · Aug 19 archive
Nine people, including eight Bangladeshi nationals, are killed and six others are injured in a hotel fire in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Confirmed
The four-year-old child and eight other people killed in the blaze have been identified as Bangladeshi nationals who had come to India for medical treatment, the Fire Department said. West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari expressed "shock and anguish" over the incident and announced the formation of a five-member Special Investigation Team to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.
Koushik Chowdhury, a state minister, said after visiting the site that some among the dead were Bangladeshi nationals, PTI reported. The hotel only had a small gate for entrance and exit, which made it difficult for trapped people to exit the building, locals said.
At least 28 people were rescued from the hotel, the local police said. Five fire engines were deployed to bring the blaze under control, while police and disaster management teams carried out rescue operations, the report said.
Four fire tenders were pressed into service along with a disaster management team to bring the blaze under control, the officials said. Those killed included two women and a four-year-old child, police said.
Authorities said the fire was brought under control and that their immediate focus was on rescuing anyone still trapped inside and investigating the cause of the fire, which was not immediately known. Forensic experts were collecting evidence at the scene and an investigation was launched into the cause of the fire and whether safety regulations were followed, police told PTI.
Footage from Wednesday morning showed the building, which reportedly did not have any fire escape route or fire extinguishers, was completely burnt down. The government would conduct fire safety inspections at hotels across the state in the wake of the blaze, the minister said.
The state government issued closure notices to 15 hotels near the temple for allegedly operating without fire licences. The fire broke out on the second floor of the Sikha Inn, according to reports.
Chowdhury said a short circuit may have caused the fire. Minister Agnimitra Paul said ten hotels were operating in the same building.
What's confirmed
- Those killed included two women and a four-year-old child, police said.
- Five fire engines were deployed to bring the blaze under control, while police and disaster management teams carried out rescue operations, the report said.
- The four-year-old child and eight other people killed in the blaze have been identified as Bangladeshi nationals who had come to India for medical treatment, the Fire Department said.
- Four fire tenders were pressed into service along with a disaster management team to bring the blaze under control, the officials said.
What's still developing
- Koushik Chowdhury, a state minister, said after visiting the site that some among the dead were Bangladeshi nationals, PTI reported.
- The government would conduct fire safety inspections at hotels across the state in the wake of the blaze, the minister said.
- Authorities said the fire was brought under control and that their immediate focus was on rescuing anyone still trapped inside and investigating the cause of the fire, which was not immediately known.
- Forensic experts were collecting evidence at the scene and an investigation was launched into the cause of the fire and whether safety regulations were followed, police told PTI.
- Chowdhury said a short circuit may have caused the fire.
- At least 28 people were rescued from the hotel, the local police said.
- The fire broke out on the second floor of the Sikha Inn, according to reports.
- Footage from Wednesday morning showed the building, which reportedly did not have any fire escape route or fire extinguishers, was completely burnt down.