And fire indefinitely ravaged a six -story dilapidated hotel on Tuesday evening from the center of Calcuttain northeast of India, killing at least 15 and 12 injured, according to the latest assessment published by the police.
The fire broke out at the start of the evening on the 1st floor of the Rituraj hotel, located in the center of the 15 million inhabitants, and quickly spread to the rest of the building. “The hotel has turned into a real furnace shortly after the fire, it seems that many victims have perprime,” said city police chief Manoj Kumar Verma.
#TRAGIC 💔#Kolkata: 14 People Killed in fire in a 5 storied Hotel Rituraj near Falpatti Machhua , Central Kolkata.
Locals allege that the hotel had no fire safety arrangement.
Hundreds of hotels in Kolkata and every other city run like this , with one narrow exit gate , no… pic.twitter.com/D7OFJHvBZe
– Amitabh Chaudhary (@mithilawaala) April 30, 2025
The emergency services were able to help twenty people who had taken refuge on the roof of the building to escape the flames, he added. Two children and a woman are among the deceased, continued the officer, adding that the 12 hospitalized injured suffered from more or less serious burns.
A total of 88 customers stayed in the 42 rooms of the establishment at the time of the disaster.
“The situation was dramatic,” said an employee of the hotel anonymously. “Most of the building windows were blocked by bricks”. “The hotel has instantly drowned under a thick cloud of black smoke. We couldn’t see anything anymore, we were enough, “he continued. “The only escape possible was a narrow staircase. People have jostled to get out of the hotel. ”
Negligence and lack of maintenance
“The metal and plastic panels used in the hotel were highly flammable and fueled fire,” said another witness, Nanda Mondal, a 64 -year -old business manager. “A man died while he was trying to escape along a gutter,” he added.
14 reported death in the incident of fire in the hotel at Machua’s Phal mandi.
A devastating fire broke out on Tuesday night at the 6-story Rituraj Hotel in Burrabazar’s Mechua Bazar area, specifically within the Jorasanko police station jurisdiction and Ward No. 41. pic.twitter.com/nxwK8DTaVr
– Syeda Shabana (@journoshabana) April 30, 2025
Building fires are frequent in India Due to the lack of equipment and generalized non-compliance with safety rules.
Last year, six people were killed in a loss that had struck a hotel in Patna, in the state of the Bihar (east).
Local authorities have ordered the opening of an investigation to determine the causes of the disaster.
“This is very clearly a case of negligence and lack of maintenance”, has already decided an elected representative of the municipality, Sajal Ghosh, who came to the scene of the loss. “It is based on the issue of illegal constructions, safety standards and their implementation in the city’s cheap hotels,” he said.
In a message broadcast on his X account, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented his condolences to the families of the victims. “May the wounded recover quickly,” he wrote.
