At least 14 dead in Kolkata hotel fire, SIT formed to probe cause

The fire broke out around 7:30 pm at the Rituraj Hotel, located on Madanmohan Street in the city’s Burrabazar area. Ten fire engines were dispatched to the site, and the fire was brought under control around 1 am Wednesday.

According to the police, most of those killed in the blaze were guests who could not come out of their rooms.

The police added that the people were trapped inside the hotel after the fire started. The Rituraj Hotel, according to local residents, is built above a commercial godown on the ground floor. The upper five stories serve as hotel accommodation.

People stuck in the fire at Kolkata’s Rituraj Hotel escape the blaze. (Express Photos: Partha Paul)

As smoke filled the stairwells and corridors, some guests made their way to the rooftop in search of safety. Others were seen clinging to the narrow parapets outside their windows. Firefighters used hydraulic ladders to rescue those stranded on ledges, while those on the terrace used the flashlights from their phones to signal for help.

Loudspeakers were deployed to communicate with those trapped above, in an effort to keep them calm as firefighters worked their way up through the smoke-filled structure.

At Kolkata Medical College Hospital, a man identified as Sanjoy Paswan was declared dead on arrival. Hospital officials said he had fallen from the building while attempting to flee the fire. Several others injured in the blaze are currently undergoing treatment at the same facility.

It was only after the flames were subdued in the early hours of Wednesday that firefighters and disaster response teams were able to enter the upper floors. There, they discovered 13 bodies.

Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while expressing his condolences, wrote on social media platform X: “Anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire mishap in Kolkata. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.”

“An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” he added.

West Bengal’s Women, Children and Social Welfare Minister Sashi Panja said, “Majority of those staying in the hotel were from other states who had come for commercial activities. It is indeed a very unfortunate incident. The fire brigade tried to rescue all the boarders but some of them unfortunately died because of suffocation. Two children were among those killed. Investigation is on and we will soon know the exact cause of the blaze.”