Cramped hotel, narrow stairs, death by suffocation in smoke

In Kolkata, West Bengal, India, there are a number of hotels located in a multi-storey building on Mirza Ghalib Street in the New Market area. Rooms are quite small. On almost every floor, there is a hotel or guest house.

A fire first broke out in a hotel on the third floor of that building. However, the intensity was not that immense. But the smoke kept spreading gradually. The entire hotel became engulfed. Guests could not find a way out.

In this incident, which occurred around 2:00 am on Tuesday, nine people have died so far. It is feared that the number may rise.

Indian media outlet Sangbad Pratidin reported that these nine people died due to suffocation.

Indian media NDTV reported that Kolkata Police have filed a case regarding the incident. A search is underway for the hotel owner and absconding staff.

Police said that around 60 people were rescued from the building. Additionally, nine people, including a child, were found unconscious. They were later declared dead at the hospital. Among the deceased, one has been identified as a resident of Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, the fire incident at the hotel has raised many questions.

According to Anandabazar, another Indian media outlet, some residents claimed that after the fire broke out, no one from the hotel management was seen. There was also no firefighting system. As soon as the fire broke out, residents tried to get out of the hotel. But due to the smoke, they could not find a way out.

Nearly all floors of a number of buildings along Mirza Ghalib Street house residential hotels. (Photo: Collected.)

One resident said, "If the fire brigade had not come, we might not have survived either!"

The Anandabazar report, quoting locals, said that people who come from other states or foreign countries for medical treatment usually stay in the hotels in that building. On Tuesday night, when everyone was sleeping in the hotel, the fire broke out. Many were trapped inside their rooms. The multi-storey building had only one entrance and exit, and that too was narrow.

Residents claimed that the hotel had no emergency exit. Some took refuge in the toilets. They tried to break the windows there to get out. The fire brigade arrived and rescued the residents of the building.

Among the residents were two friends who had arrived from Rampurhat that same Tuesday night. One of them, Ejaz Ahmed, said they were staying at a different guest house on the fourth floor of that building. They had dinner and went to sleep around 12:30 am. Around 2:15 am, they woke up to the screams of two women. As soon as they opened the door, smoke entered the room. He said, "The balcony outside the room is very narrow. It was covered in smoke."

A family lived on the topmost floor of that building in New Market. They were also rescued.

A woman from that family said that when they were brought down, the fire had been extinguished. She complained that hotel officials were repeatedly told to install firefighting equipment, but no one followed the rules. Complaints to the administration were also useless.

Just two days earlier, a devastating fire had occurred at a hotel in Birbhum, West Bengal. At least eight people died in that incident.

India has long been one of the primary destinations for Bangladeshi patients. These patients seek treatment in Kolkata and various other cities in the country. However, after the July mass uprising, travel to India had decreased somewhat due to visa complications and restrictions.

Recently, New Delhi resumed tourist visas for Bangladeshis, which had been suspended for nearly two years. Visa activities subsequently normalised. In the midst of this, the fire incident occurred.