Horror Unfolds in Burrabazar’s Mechhuapatti Lane

News Flash

April 30

Source: PTI

Flames, Smoke and Screams Turn Budget Hotel into Death Trap; Children Among Dead as Survivors Recount Night of Terror

Kolkata: In one of the deadliest fire tragedies in recent times, a devastating blaze swept through a budget hotel in the heart of Kolkata’s Mechhuapatti area in Burrabazar, leaving 14 people dead—including two children—and 13 others critically injured, late Tuesday night.

The fire broke out around 8 pm, reportedly on the second floor of the six-storey building, and quickly turned the crowded structure—housing 88 people in 42 rooms—into a gas chamber of smoke, panic, and despair.

By dawn on Wednesday, the stench of char and grief hung heavy in the narrow lanes, as blackened belongings, melted wires, and broken glass lay scattered across soot-smeared corridors. Forensic teams began combing through the wreckage as police sealed the site.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of horror. “I saw a boy crying for his mother from a third-floor window. The smoke swallowed him,” said a local shopkeeper. Survivors recounted crawling through pitch darkness, wrapping towels around their faces, and knocking on neighbours’ doors that never opened again.

Rescue efforts were severely hindered by narrow alleyways, forcing fire officials to manually break windows and enter with ropes and ladders. The blaze was finally brought under control around 3 am, but by then, it was too late for many.

Victims included migrant workers and traders, mostly from nearby districts and states, who were staying temporarily in the city’s wholesale hub. Local volunteers helped ferry the injured to hospitals, where several remain in critical condition due to severe burns and smoke inhalation.

Authorities have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cause. While preliminary reports suggest a short circuit, questions are mounting about fire safety violations, lack of working alarms, and absence of escape protocols.

Grief-stricken families arrived by Wednesday morning to identify the dead. One local resident summed it up: “These people came to the city to earn a living. They left in body bags.”