At least nine people were killed after a blaze broke out at Kolkata’s Shikha Inn hotel. As per officials, the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday.
Four fire tenders were pressed into action, and the fire was doused after a few hours. People familiar with the matter have added that the fire broke out on the second floor of the hotel and then spread to the rest of the building. “Neither smoke nor flames were visible from the outside. “Most of the hotels in this area are running illegally. They don’t have firefighting mechanism. They don’t follow any rules and regulations. Some don’t even have licenses. Inside, there are illegal constructions. Residential buildings are turned into commercial spaces overnight.
Police and fire brigade teams arrived at the scene; 22 people were rescued using ladders,” Birbhum Superintendent of Police Vidit Raj Bhundesh told reporters.
The fire broke out in the hotel, which is a five-storey building on 15H Mirza Ghalib Street, around 2am, according to fire brigade officials . We have told multiple times. The police station and fire brigade station are at a stone’s throw,” he said.
Speaking to media, Fire Department Minister Kaushik Chowdhury said that the cause of the fir in under investigation and could be due to a short circuit.
