Kolkata hotel fire: Nine killed, SIT formed to probe blaze

Following the tragic fire at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street that claimed nine lives Kolkata Police has formed a Special Investigation Team SIT to probe the incident news agency ANI reportedNine people including one child died in the fire which erupted during the early hours on Wednesday police saidAround 60 others were rescued from the burning buildingFollowing the fire West Bengal Minister Agnimitra Paul said the government is planning to form a team to check whether hotels across the city have valid permits and fire licences pointing out that the building housed multiple hotels with small rooms crammed across its floorsPaul arrived at the site to inspect the hotel and asserted that action would be taken in the caseWe are planning to form a team to check whether the hotels have valid permits and fire licences Ten hotels are being run across three floors of a single building with small rooms This cannot be allowed The police are still checking whether they are Bangladeshi or Indian The police will confirm this after the investigation Definitely action will be taken We have not spoken to the Chief Minister yet but after speaking to the Chief Minister we will make any announcement Paul told reportersAround 60 people rescued from Kolkata hotel blazeEchoing similar sentiments over the situation state minister Tapas Roy said Those running hotels here and do not have all the required licences and facilities should be checked We will form a team to inspect and search all such places This is not happening only here similar incidents are taking place across Kolkata and in other cities in congested areas We will adopt a zerotolerance approach towards such incidentsWest Bengal Minister Kaushik Chaudhary said the toll could have been far higher had rescue teams not acted swiftly We have information of nine deaths We dont know the cause of the fire yet There could have been 100 deaths but we managed to rescue 80 people It appears the deaths were due to smoke Nine people have died strict action will be taken in this incident The CM has spoken to me to inquire about the situationAccording to police information about the fire was received at New Market Police Station at around 2 am prompting a police team to rush to the spot immediately while the Fire Brigade and CESC authorities were alerted and asked to take urgent actionAfter a prolonged rescue operation Fire Brigade and police personnel rescued approximately 60 people from the hotel premises and brought them to safety During the rescue effort nine persons including two women and one child were found unconscious and rushed to Medical College amp Hospital for treatment On examination the doctor declared them brought deadPolice said the situation in the area is currently peaceful and under control with adequate police deployment maintained at the spot The site of the incident has been secured and preserved and further action is being taken as per law The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertainedThe incident comes just two days after another hotel fire in the state On Monday eight people died and several others were injured allegedly due to a short circuit at a hotel in Tarapith in Birbhum district officials saidWith ANI inputs