Archive · 20 Aug 2026
Kolkata Hotel Fire Kills Nine, Including Five Bangladeshis
A fire started at a hotel in Kolkata early Wednesday morning.
Many people were sleeping when smoke and screams woke them.
Some guests escaped using stairs, terraces, balconies, or ledges.
Others were rescued by firefighters.
Nine people died, including a family of four from Bangladesh and a hotel worker from Jharkhand.
Six people were injured and taken to a hospital.
Firefighters used at least five engines during the rescue.
Investigators think an air-conditioner short circuit may have started the fire.
Officials are also examining whether the hotel had adequate fire-safety arrangements.
Nine people died and six were injured after a fire broke out at Shikha Inn in Kolkata.
The blaze began around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on the hotel’s second floor, while many guests were asleep.
The dead included a Bangladeshi family of four and 19-year-old hotel worker Sandeep Paswan from Jharkhand.
Firefighters used at least five engines to rescue survivors and recover nine bodies from the building.
A preliminary investigation pointed to an air-conditioner short circuit, while officials also faced scrutiny over fire-safety measures.
- Who
- Nine hotel occupants died, including five Bangladeshi nationals and hotel worker Sandeep Paswan from Jharkhand; six others were injured.
- What
- A fire at Shikha Inn killed nine people and injured six.
- When
- The fire began early Wednesday at about 1:30 a.m.; one survivor recalled hearing screams around 2:30 a.m.
- Where
- Shikha Inn, on the second floor of six-storeyed Florence Mansion on Mirza Ghalib Street in New Market, Kolkata.
- Why
- A preliminary investigation suggested that a short circuit in an air-conditioner caused the blaze; the wider fire-safety arrangements are also being examined.
Political Accountability
Preliminary Fire Cause
Responsibility for the tragedy
Political Accountability
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari blamed the previous Trinamool Congress-led government for inadequate fire-safety measures at the hotel.
Preliminary Fire Cause
The available preliminary finding focused on a possible electrical short circuit in an air-conditioner, while a special investigation team was established to examine the incident.
What investigators have established
Political Accountability
The fire-safety conditions and the hotel’s arrangements remain an issue requiring investigation, according to the political criticism reported.
Preliminary Fire Cause
The air-conditioner short circuit was only a preliminary explanation, and the definitive cause had not been established in the reports.
- Deaths
- Nine people died: six men, two women and one boy.
- Injured
- Six people were rescued and taken to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.
- Bangladeshi victims
- At least five of the deceased were Bangladeshi nationals, including a family of four from Kustia.
- Indian victims identified
- The reports identified Sandeep Paswan, 19, from Giridih, Jharkhand, and Yog Narayan Aggarwal, 68, from Siliguri.
- Emergency response
- At least five fire engines responded to the fire.
- Preliminary cause
- Investigators suggested that an air-conditioner short circuit may have started the blaze.
- Official response
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences, and a five-member special investigation team was announced.
