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Nine people were reportedly killed in a devastating fire at the Shikha Inn residential hotel on Free School Street in Kolkata’s New Market area. Eight of the victims were Bangladeshi nationals and one was an Indian citizen.
The identities of six victims have so far been confirmed, including five Bangladeshis and one Indian national.
The Bangladeshi victims have been identified as Shanshish Dutta, Afsana Shimmin, Debashish Dutta and Mohammad Akram Ali, all reportedly from Kushtia, Bangladesh.
Another victim, Ahmed Babu, was a resident of Begunbari in Aminbazar, Savar, Dhaka. His father’s name is Adam Ali.
The Indian victim was identified as Sandeep Paswan, a resident of Jharkhand who worked at the hotel.
Most of the guests were asleep when the fire broke out. Many began experiencing breathing difficulties while asleep. Those who realised what was happening quickly and attempted to escape managed to survive, while several others died in their sleep.
The fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, raising fresh concerns over safety measures at residential hotels in Kolkata’s New Market area.
The New Market area is locally known as “Mini Bangladesh” because of the large number of Bangladeshi visitors. Numerous residential hotels are located in and around Colin Street, Mirza Ghalib Street, Free School Street, Sudder Street and Marquis Street.
There are reportedly around 1,000 to 1,200 hotels of various sizes in these areas.
Bangladeshi citizens regularly visit the New Market area, and the fact that most of the fire victims were Bangladeshis has sparked concern among the Bangladeshi community.