Fire at Cox’s Bazar hotel triggers panic among 300 tourists

A fire broke out at a hotel in Cox’s Bazar on Friday, triggering panic and a hurried evacuation of more than 300 tourists, a week after 10 people were killed in a fire at a resort in the coastal district.
No casualties were reported in the latest incident occurred in the Sea Princess hotel of the beach city.
According to police, fire service officials and hotel authorities, the fire originated in the parking area of the nine-storey hotel around 4pm. Thick smoke triggered alarm among passers-by and hotel staff, while tourists staying in different rooms rushed out of the building and took shelter on the nearby beach.
A Fire Service unit arrived at the scene at 4:20pm. With the joint efforts of firefighters and hotel staff, the blaze was brought under control in about half an hour. The fire damaged the generator and several other parts of the parking area.
Syed Mohammad Morshed Hossain, assistant deputy director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Cox’s Bazar, said a unit was dispatched immediately after receiving the information. He said a preliminary assessment suggested that a short circuit in the generator might have triggered the fire. However, the cause has yet to be confirmed.
Hotel Managing Director Abdul Kader said more than 300 tourists were staying at the hotel when the fire broke out, but all of them remained safe. He said the hotel had adequate firefighting arrangements and the prompt response of its staff helped avert a major accident. On 17 October, 10 tourists were killed in a fire at the Tuptup resort in the Inani area of Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar.