At least 15 people, including two children, lost their lives in a devastating fire that broke out at a hotel in a congested commercial district of Kolkata on Tuesday evening, according to Indian authorities.
The blaze, which erupted around 8:15pm local time (1445 GMT), is believed to have started in a room adjacent to the kitchen on the first floor of the six-storey Rituraj Hotel, located in the densely packed Burrabazar area of the city. Police sources said the flames quickly spread through the structure, engulfing all six floors.
“The fire was reported close to the kitchen area. Most of the hotel’s 45 rooms were occupied at the time,” a police official said, adding that approximately 50 guests were inside the building when the fire began.
Officials said that many of the deceased were found on the staircases, where they are believed to have succumbed to asphyxiation. Sujit Bose, West Bengal’s fire and emergency services minister, confirmed the death toll and said that eight of the victims had been identified so far.
"The forensic team is on site today (Wednesday). An inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the fire and to examine why the hotel's inbuilt fire-fighting system failed to activate," Bose told reporters.
Eyewitness accounts and video footage showed panicked guests seeking refuge on narrow ledges and balconies. Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma stated that around 20 individuals were rescued from the roof, five from inside their rooms, and several others from balconies by firefighters using hydraulic ladders.
Tragically, one person died after jumping from the roof out of fear, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim confirmed. "Many guests were able to escape, but one individual leapt from the rooftop in panic and succumbed to his injuries," he said.
A local police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said rescuers used megaphones to communicate with people stranded on higher floors, urging them to remain calm until help could reach them.
The Rituraj Hotel is situated in one of Kolkata’s busiest commercial zones, marked by narrow lanes and dense construction, complicating fire-fighting operations. The tragedy has once again brought into question the enforcement of safety regulations in older buildings in urban India.
Authorities said a full report will be submitted after the forensic team concludes its investigation. In the meantime, questions are being raised about the hotel's safety compliance and the preparedness of fire response systems in such high-risk zones.
A senior fire department official, speaking to local media, said: “Initial observations suggest serious lapses in fire safety. This incident could have been far less deadly had the internal systems functioned as they should have.”
