Smoke, not flames, causes deaths in Kolkata hotel fire

Excessive smoke, rather than flames, is believed to have caused the deaths of nine people in the devastating Kolkata hotel fire, according to preliminary forensic findings.
Dense smoke reportedly spread rapidly through the five-storey building, leaving guests with little chance of escape. Seven Bangladeshis were among those killed.
The fire broke out on the third floor of the hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in New Market. A preliminary investigation found that an electrical connection or port for an air conditioner at the reception area may have been the source of the fire. Part of the area where the AC unit was installed had swollen, after which electrical wires reportedly began bursting.
The fire then spread toxic smoke throughout the building, causing nine residents to die of suffocation after inhaling it. As their rooms filled with smoke, they were unable to escape.
A forensic examination found that two bodies were recovered from a passage after the victims apparently tried to flee.
Journalist Debashish Dutta, his wife Afsana Sharmin and their child Sharnashish Dutta were staying in one room, while his father-in-law Akram Hossain was in another.

Questions raised over hotel safety
The tragedy at Hotel Shikha Inn, following another hotel fire in Kolkata within three days, has raised serious questions about safety arrangements in the city’s hotels. The two fires claimed 18 lives.
New Market, known as Kolkata’s “Mini Bangladesh”, has around 1,000 to 1,200 hotels of various sizes across areas including Collin Street, Mirza Ghalib Street, Free School Street, Sudder Street and Marquis Street.
Many buildings in the congested area are decades old, while numerous hotels and guesthouses continue to operate from ageing structures. Some are reportedly dilapidated internally but have been refurbished with laminates and plywood to attract guests, with little apparent attention to safety.
Businessmen and foreign tourists say some guesthouses resemble mazes, with confusing entrances and exits. Poor electrical wiring, ageing lifts and narrow corridors further increase the risks. Many hotels also lack balconies and additional staircases that could provide emergency escape routes.
Some allege that certain municipal, police and fire officials allow businesses to reopen after accidents in exchange for money despite safety concerns.
A preliminary investigation by Kolkata Police and the Fire Department found that the hotel had no fire licence and had not undergone a safety audit for a long time. Its emergency exit had also been blocked by a wall, cutting off a vital escape route.
Mohammad Asaduzzaman, a resident of Gazipur who was visiting Kolkata for medical treatment, was staying on the fifth floor and narrowly escaped.
“I managed to escape somehow, covering my nose with the vest I was wearing. If I had been delayed by just another minute, I might have died too,” he told the Daily Sun.

Three arrested over fire
Hotel leaseholder Abu Zafar was arrested in connection with the fire. Detective Department officers arrested him late Wednesday night from his residence in Jorasanko under Entally police station.
Two others, including the hotel manager and a staff member, have also been detained and are being questioned.

Autopsies completed, families await bodies
The autopsies of the seven Bangladeshis killed in the fire were completed at the morgue of Kolkata Medical College Hospital on Thursday.
The bodies are expected to be repatriated to Bangladesh after legal and administrative procedures in both countries are completed.
Krishna Nandi, a relative of deceased journalist Debashish Dutta and a resident of Malda, said they visited the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata to arrange the repatriation of four family members’ bodies. They had earlier collected the necessary documents from New Market Police Station.
Nandi said the bodies could be repatriated once the formalities are completed, but he did not expect them to return to Bangladesh before Friday. Family members in Bangladesh will be asked to come to the border once the procedures in India are completed.

‘We will certainly do whatever needs to be done’
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi said the Indian government would do whatever was necessary over the Kolkata hotel fire.
“This is deeply heartbreaking. We will certainly do whatever needs to be done there,” he told reporters at the Secretariat after meeting Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hussain.