A fire broke out in a multi-storied building on the upmarket Park Street in the city hub Tuesday, police said.
At least six people are feared dead andu00a0 several injured in a fire at a multi-storied building on the upmarket Park Street in Kolkata Tuesday, police said.
Scores of peopleu00a0are trapped in the raging fire that broke out in the afternoon.
Forty fire tenders were battling to contain the blaze, which started in an elevator shaft in 18/A Park Street, housing the popular Peter Cat restaurant and close to the iconic Flurys tea room, police said.
"At least 12 injured people have been removed from the building that has caught fire and one of them is in critical condition. They have been admitted to SSKM hospital," Joint Commissioner of Police Jawed Shamin told IANS.
"Forty fire tenders have been mobilised till now. The quick response team is also working," he added.
"There are many people still inside the building. We hope to remove all of them from the building," he said.
There was a huge traffic snarl as crowds collected on the arterial road, making it difficult for the fire tenders to access the building
There were dramatic scenes as people tried desperately to clamber down the British era building on ropes. One person was seriously injured when he jumped from one of the higher floors.
People were seen calling for help with their mobile phones while perched precariously on the terrace or on ledges. Some were waving for help from grilled windows.
Firefighters could be seen using several ladders and breaking windows to enter the building from Flurys side and rescue the people, including some old women, trapped inside.
A common passage connects Peter Cat, Music World and Flurys.
"It is an old building. It will take some time to put it out," said Pratim Chatterjee, fire services minister.
The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained.
Major fires in Kolkata
The Park Street blaze Tuesday is the third big fire in Kolkata in the last two years that has resulted in huge loss of property and many injuries.
The fire at Park Street follows two major fires, one of them in Burra Bazar in 2008. The city's biggest wholesale market was destroyed in that fire that resulted in losses worth crores of rupees affecting almost 2,500 shops.
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There was also a huge fire in a slum near the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass on March 5 this year when over 100 shanties were gutted. At least 20 fire engines were pressed into service to douse the flames.
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