Kolkata : At least nine people were killed and several others injured after a fire broke out at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata in the early hours of Wednesday, an official said. According to fire department sources, the blaze broke out around 2:00 am. As per sources, the deceased were Bangladeshi citizens who had arrived in Kolkata for medical treatment.
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The incident comes just two days after another hotel fire in West Bengal. On Monday, eight people died and several others were injured, allegedly due to a short circuit, at a hotel in Tarapith in Birbhum district, officials said. Birbhum Superintendent of Police Vidit Raj Bhundesh said, "Neither smoke nor flames were visible from the outside. Police and fire brigade teams arrived at the scene; 22 people were rescued using ladders, and 11 others were sent to the hospital...7 people have lost their lives in this incident," he told reporters.
According to an official, 28 people were rescued and survived, while seven others are undergoing treatment. The injured are from Shib Bari Baganara and South Garhill in Meghalaya. Eight people were rescued but later declared dead. Five of them were from Meghalaya, while three were from Alipurduar. The hotel operators in Tarapith have been taken into custody after an FIR was registered, and police are questioning them as part of the investigation.