‘Death better than living this curse’

Chatterjee said he works for a shop owner who sells thermocol plates and glasses. “Around 3.10 am I heard a sound. I was sleeping on the floor with other labourers. Suddenly I could not breathe. The smoke engulfed us. I could not go out as there was a single exit and the door was closed,” he said.

He said he does not know if his relatives had come to the hospital. “I don’t know. When I was admitted I was in a semi-conscious state. When I recovered the nurses told me that my relatives contacted me,but I don’t know,” he said.

Another labourer,Shankar Debananth,admitted to bed number 71 of the burn unit,could not speak a word. He suffered 70 per cent burns and fractured his hands as he fell down while being rescued.

Hospital sources said both of them have been now shifted to the surgical sick intensive care unit as their condition is critical.

Three other injured persons in Surya Sen fire mishap have since been discharged from the hospital.