Those findings will determine whether criminal or regulatory action follows the emergency response. For investigators, the immediate questions were how the fire started, whether required protections were present and why smoke prevented so many guests from escaping. The Kolkata disaster renewed attention on enforcement of fire codes in crowded Indian buildings.
The decision followed another deadly hotel fire two days earlier in Tarapith, where at least seven people were reported killed in the AP account. West Bengal authorities said hotel fire-safety inspections would be conducted across the state.
Because early emergency reports evolved, the confirmed minimum toll and unresolved investigation remained the soundest basis for an account. Later official findings would be needed to reconcile rescue figures and determine whether building management or regulatory failures contributed.
Police began searching for the hotel owner, according to the supplied reporting. Witness and local accounts described restricted exits and inadequate safety equipment, but those claims were also subject to the official investigation. The building stood on congested Mirza Ghalib Street and accommodated multiple small hotels.
Chowdhury said an electrical short circuit was a possibility, while local media reports suggested an air-conditioner explosion. Investigators collected forensic evidence and began examining both the origin of the blaze and whether the property complied with safety requirements. Because the inquiry remained open, neither suggested cause was confirmed. Authorities had not established the cause of the fire.
Initial AP reporting was more limited, saying only that some victims were Bangladeshi. The Independent, citing the Fire Department, reported that all nine victims — a four-year-old and eight adults — were Bangladeshi citizens who had travelled to India for medical care. Officials confirmed that Bangladeshi nationals were among the dead.
The Press Trust of India, citing a senior official, reported that at least 80 people were taken from the building, while local police cited by another outlet put the number at 28 from the hotel. The reports may reflect different scopes or stages of the response, and the supplied evidence does not resolve the discrepancy. Accounts differed on the number rescued.
He said many smoke inhalation probably caused many of the deaths, in the minister’s assessment. State minister Koushik Chowdhury said some rooms had no windows and that rescuers rescued two occupants through the window of their room. Thick smoke complicated access to the upper floors, where some occupants were unable to find a route out. Emergency crews brought the fire under control and transported the injured to a nearby hospital.
The blaze began at about 1:45 a.m. near the West Bengal Fire Department headquarters as guests were sleeping. Among those killed were two women and a four-year-old child. A fire in a five-storey building housing several hotels in central Kolkata left a minimum of nine dead, with six more people hurt, according to police.
