At least 14 people, including two children, perished in a devastating fire that engulfed the Rituraj Hotel in Kolkata, West Bengal on Tuesday night.
The inferno, now under control, left two others critically injured as firefighters conducted desperate rooftop rescues using hydraulic ladders. Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes of guests flashing phone lights from upper floors and clinging to window ledges to escape the choking smoke that filled the budget accommodation.
The Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma confirmed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will examine whether functional fire exits could have prevented the staggering death toll.
PM Modi Announces Compensation as Fire Safety Failures Surface Again
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the tragedy on social media platform X, announcing financial aid for victims’ families. The catastrophe revives painful memories of India’s deadliest building fires, including last year’s Gujarat arcade blaze (27 dead) and the Jhansi hospital fire that killed 10 newborns.
West Bengal Social Welfare Minister Sashi Panja attributed most deaths to suffocation, while opposition BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar slammed the state government’s “lax fire safety enforcement.” Preliminary reports suggest many victims became trapped in interior rooms without emergency exits as the fire rapidly spread through the hotel’s lower floors around midnight.
Firefighters had battled for hours to control the Kolkata hotel blaze, with The Indian Express reporting heroic efforts to reach guests signaling desperately from upper floors.
Survivors described chaotic evacuation attempts as smoke filled stairwells, forcing some to risk climbing exterior walls. The tragedy spotlights India’s recurring fire safety crises in densely populated urban areas, where overcrowded buildings frequently violate the National Building Code’s fire prevention standards.
Forensic teams are now combing the charred structure to determine if faulty wiring, kitchen equipment, or other violations contributed to the deadly incident.
Political Fallout Grows as West Bengal Demands Accountability
With state elections approaching, the Rituraj Hotel disaster has ignited political tensions in West Bengal. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s administration faces scrutiny over enforcement gaps, her government has pledged compensation matching the central funds.
Urban safety experts note this latest incident follows a pattern of preventable tragedies in Indian cities, where 20% of buildings lack mandatory fire clearances according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
