Nine die in India hotel fire

A fire broke out at a budget hotel in Kolkata, India, killing nine people, including a child. The fire occurred on the second floor of the hotel building around 2:50 a.m. local time and was brought under control within an hour. Thick smoke enveloped the hotel, and an air conditioner explosion may have triggered the blaze, according to Anuj Sharma, the fire services director of West Bengal state, as reported by New Straits Times.

Around 30 people were evacuated safely, and six people were injured and taken to hospital for treatment. The hotel, located in a congested area in central Kolkata, accommodated 60 guests at the time of the fire. Some of the victims may have been Bangladeshi nationals who had travelled to Kolkata for medical treatment, according to Santosh Pathak, a member of West Bengal's ruling party, as per New Straits Times.

However, the nationalities of those killed are yet to be confirmed, as stated by a senior police officer to Reuters.

The exact cause of the blaze is still being investigated. Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and disregard for safety regulations, as noted by New Straits Times. The fire was reportedly brought under control with the deployment of five fire engines, and authorities focused on rescuing anyone still trapped inside and investigating the cause of the fire.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Punch Nigeria, Business Recorder, The Korea Times, New Straits Times — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.