A FIRE at a hotel in Kolkata killed nine people, including a child, on Wednesday, marking another deadly hotel blaze in India within days as authorities investigated possible safety failures.
"Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday," Anuj Sharma, the fire services director of West Bengal state, told AFP.
"Thick smoke enveloped the hotel. Some victims were found in the bathrooms."
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Preliminary information suggested an air conditioner at the budget Shika Inn hotel may have exploded and caused the fire, Sharma said. A forensic team was deployed to examine the scene after firefighters brought the blaze under control.
Police said 60 guests were staying at the hotel. Media reports said six people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment.
Firefighters used ladders to enter the building through windows and rescue people trapped inside. "The dense smoke made it difficult for firefighters to climb the staircase and reach the upper floors," a police officer was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
Some victims were likely Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment, said Santosh Pathak, a member of West Bengal's ruling party.
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"We are trying to confirm the nationality of the victims," he told reporters.
The Indian Express newspaper, quoting police sources, said three of the dead were from Bangladesh.
Atiyar Rehman, a guest from Satkhira in Bangladesh, told the English-language daily that the hotel had no fire safety system.
"We woke up struggling to breathe in the smoke. We somehow managed to escape," Rehman said.
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West Bengal's fire minister, Kaushik Chaudhary, said police were probing possible safety lapses at the hotel.
On Monday, eight people died in a hotel fire in Tarapith, while building fires remain common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and routine disregard for safety regulations.
Prime minister Narendra Modi said he was "extremely pained" by the loss of life.
(With inputs from agencies)
