At least 15 people lost their lives in a devastating fire that engulfed a six-story hotel in Kolkata’s densely populated Burrabazar area on Tuesday evening.
The blaze, which broke out at the Rituraj Hotel on Madanmohan Street around 7:30 pm, claimed most of its victims through suffocation, while one man died after falling while trying to escape.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma confirmed the death toll and announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to determine the cause of the fire and assess the building’s safety protocols.
“The SIT will also examine the evacuation challenges faced by hotel guests,” he told the media.
Firefighting teams responded quickly, dispatching ten engines to the scene. The fire was brought under control around 1 am on Wednesday.
Despite their efforts, several guests were unable to escape in time. Police officials stated that most of those who perished were trapped inside their rooms as thick smoke quickly filled the stairwells and hallways.
Residents reported that the Rituraj Hotel is built above a ground-floor commercial godown, with the top five floors functioning as guest accommodations.
As the fire spread, some guests sought refuge on the rooftop, while others clung to narrow ledges and window parapets. Firefighters used hydraulic ladders to rescue those stranded on the building’s facade, while those on the roof used mobile phone flashlights to signal for help.
To keep those trapped calm during the rescue, authorities used loudspeakers to communicate with them through the dense smoke.
One of the victims, Sanjoy Paswan, died after falling from the building while attempting to escape. He was declared dead on arrival at Kolkata Medical College Hospital, where several others injured in the fire are currently receiving treatment.
After the blaze was extinguished in the early hours of Wednesday, firefighters and disaster response teams entered the upper floors, where they discovered 13 bodies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the tragedy on the social media platform X, stating: “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.” He also announced an ex gratia payment of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
West Bengal’s Women, Children and Social Welfare Minister Sashi Panja said that many of the hotel’s occupants were from other states, visiting Kolkata for business.
“This is a deeply unfortunate incident. The fire brigade made efforts to rescue all the guests, but sadly, some succumbed to suffocation.
Two children are among the deceased. An investigation is underway, and the exact cause of the fire will be known soon,” she stated.
