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. As per guests in the hotel, the inn had only one entry and exit and no emergency exits.
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. 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 .
“I came with my friend. It was a very dangerous situation and I really don’t know how we escaped. There was no fire-alarm or fire-fighting system.
Some have died,” Amirul Hossain, a guest from Tarapith in Birbhum district, told HT.
