Kolkata hotel fire: 'Stepped out to buy food, returned to find kids dead' - TN couple narrates horror

A massive fire broke out at Hotel Rituraj in Kolkata’s Mechua Bazar on Tuesday night, killing 14 people, including three members of a family from Tamil Nadu. Among the victims were 10-year-old Diya, her 3-year-old brother Rithan, and their grandfather S Muthukrishnan, 61, all residents of Uppidamangalam in Karur district.

The family had been on a 12-day vacation across North and East India and had arrived in Kolkata on April 29, planning to return to Tamil Nadu that night. T Prabhu, the children’s father, had stepped out with his wife Madhumitha to buy food, leaving the children and his father-in-law in Room 313 on the third floor of the hotel. By the time the couple returned, a massive fire had engulfed the hotel.

"We could have planned to leave an hour earlier, or stayed back with them, and we could have died together," T Prabhu told TOI.

“We were planning to check out by 8.30 pm after dinner. I still cannot believe they are not coming back with us,” Prabhu added.

According to the authorities, the fire broke out between 7.30 pm and 8 pm. Thirteen people died due to suffocation while one person died after jumping out of the building in a panic. “My father-in-law had called me, saying smoke was filling the building. We rushed back, but flames were already coming out of the windows,” Prabhu said.

With the help of fire personnel, Prabhu climbed a ladder to the third floor and broke a window to get inside, but thick smoke blinded him. “I tried to get to the rooms, but I couldn’t breathe. I had to come back down,” he said. Madhumitha said, “I still can’t believe I lost them.”

Prabhu said the hotel lacked proper emergency exits and fire safety measures. “There was no clear way out. Many people were trapped,” he said.

According to initial investigations by the state fire department, the fire spread due to highly flammable materials stored inside and a complete failure of firefighting systems.

What made the situation worse was the fact that critical safety features either did not exist or failed during the emergency. Sprinklers and fire alarms were also non-functional.

Fire officials found that the hotel’s last No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department had expired in 2022 and was never renewed. The first floor, where the fire originated, had no windows or ventilation. The heat and smoke quickly travelled to the upper floors, filling corridors and rooms with toxic fumes.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin offered condolences and assured the family of government support. DMK MLA V Senthilbalaji also expressed his sympathies.

Tamil Maanila Congress chief G K Vasan urged the state government to help transport the bodies to Karur and demanded a thorough investigation into the fire. Karur district collector M Thangavel has assured the family of all assistance in bringing the bodies home.