A pre-dawn fire at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in central Kolkata has killed at least nine people and injured six others, exposing once again the potentially deadly fire-safety risks inside the city’s crowded budget-hotel belt.
The fire broke out at around 2 am on Wednesday in a five-storey building near New Market. Most guests were asleep when thick smoke began spreading through the building, making evacuation extremely difficult. Firefighters eventually brought the blaze under control after a prolonged rescue operation.
Nine dead, including a child
According to officials, nine people were killed and six others injured. The deceased included six men, two women and a four-year-old child. Around 80 people were rescued from the building. The victims were reported to be Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment.
A police officer described the rescue operation as particularly difficult because of the dense smoke.
“The dense smoke made it difficult for firefighters to climb the staircase and reach the upper floors,” he said in a press briefing. The officer added that the immediate priority was to rescue anyone still trapped inside and establish what caused the fire.
‘The situation inside this building is very bad’
The condition of the building itself has come under scrutiny following the tragedy.
West Bengal Fire Department Minister Kaushik Chowdhury, speaking to PTI, said he was shocked by the conditions inside the building and alleged that basic safety and construction norms had not been followed.
“The situation inside this building is very bad. There are several hotels inside this building. I am shocked to see what was going on here,” Officer Chowdhury said.
On the possible cause of the blaze, Chowdhury said a short circuit could be responsible, but stressed that a forensic examination would establish the exact cause. He also alleged several irregularities in the functioning of the hotel.
A hotel belt used by medical tourists
The location adds another dimension to the tragedy. The Mirza Ghalib Street–Free School Street–Marquis Street area is one of central Kolkata’s prominent clusters of budget accommodation and has long catered to visitors from Bangladesh, including patients travelling to the city for medical treatment. For many such visitors, these hotels are not merely inexpensive places to stay but temporary homes during medical trips.
That makes the question of safety particularly important: guests may have little familiarity with the building's layout, escape routes or emergency procedures when they check in.
Second deadly hotel fire in Bengal in two days
The Kolkata blaze came just days after another deadly hotel fire in West Bengal.
A separate fire at Hotel Bideshinii in Tarapith, Birbhum, killed several people, with most guests reportedly asleep when the blaze began. The back-to-back incidents have intensified concerns over fire-safety compliance in hotels across the state.
