At least 15 people, including two children and a woman, lost their lives in a devastating fire that engulfed a budget hotel in Kolkata, India, on Tuesday evening.
According to the AFP, the fire erupted at the Rituraj Hotel located in the densely populated commercial hub of central Kolkata.
The hotel was reportedly accommodating 88 guests at the time of the incident.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma confirmed the casualty figures on Wednesday, stating, “The death toll has reached 15. Several people were rescued from their rooms and the rooftop. Unfortunately, many appear to have died from suffocation as the building was quickly engulfed in smoke.”
Verma also disclosed that more than a dozen people sustained burn injuries and are currently receiving medical treatment.
The blaze, which quickly turned the hotel into what authorities described as a “gas chamber,” led to scenes of panic as desperate guests attempted to escape through windows and narrow ledges. One man reportedly died after jumping from the building’s terrace in a bid to flee the flames, according to The Telegraph, a local newspaper.
Footage captured by the Press Trust of India (PTI) showed flames leaping from the windows as thick smoke billowed into the night sky.
Emergency services managed to bring the fire under control by late Tuesday, and cooling operations were ongoing by Wednesday morning. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire.
Building fires remain a recurring tragedy in India, often blamed on poor enforcement of safety codes and inadequate firefighting infrastructure. In a similar incident last year, six people were killed in a fire at a hotel in Patna, Bihar.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended condolences to the victims’ families. “My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones in this unfortunate incident. Praying for the quick recovery of the injured,” a statement from his office read.
Kolkata, with a population exceeding 15 million, is the capital of West Bengal and is governed by the opposition Trinamool Congress party.
Authorities have urged for stricter compliance with safety regulations to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
