Kolkata Commercial Fire Leaves Nine Dead: Five Bangladeshi Nationals Among Victims in Blaze

Kolkata, India—A fierce fire tore through a five-storey commercial building housing multiple budget hotels along Mirza Ghalib Street, leaving nine people dead and six others injured. The blaze broke out during the pre-dawn hours, trapping dozens of guests inside rooms that lacked adequate ventilation windows. Thick toxic smoke rapidly filled the stairwells and upper corridors, hindering immediate escape attempts before fire tenders arrived at the scene. State disaster management personnel and municipal quick response teams rescued approximately eighty trapped occupants using extension ladders.

Police and diplomatic officials confirmed that five of the deceased victims were Bangladeshi citizens, including four members of a single family who had traveled to India for medical treatment. The victims included a four-year-old child, his parents, and his grandfather, alongside another traveler from Dhaka. "Officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission visited the site and hospitals following the fire and identified the deceased Bangladeshi nationals," stated mission representatives after coordinating with local morgues. Six other injured Bangladeshi visitors received initial hospital treatment before being discharged later that afternoon.

West Bengal fire and emergency services minister Kaushik Chowdhury inspected the charred structural ruins and alleged widespread corruption in local safety compliance management. Municipal authorities revealed that the building's operating hotels lacked valid fire clearance certificates and mandatory trade licenses. Kolkata Police established a six-member Special Investigation Team led by a senior detective department official to investigate criminal negligence. State urban development officials announced statewide safety audits targeting unverified lodging establishments operating across commercial districts.

Forensic experts sifted through debris on the upper floors to determine the precise electrical short-circuit origin point that ignited the ground-level furnishings. Grieving relatives gathered outside the SSKM Hospital morgue to complete official paperwork for the repatriation of bodies back across the international border. Local municipal corporations promised strict penal action against property owners who violated urban construction and emergency exit regulations.