World News

Nine died in a Kolkata hotel fire, with an air conditioner suspected as the source

By Staff Writer  |  20 August 2026

The fire services director for West Bengal said thick smoke filled the building and that some of those who died were found in bathrooms. Five of the dead were Bangladeshi nationals, according to their country's deputy high commission in the city.

Nine people died in a fire at a hotel in Kolkata early on Wednesday morning. Sixty guests were staying at the building, the budget Shika Inn, when the fire took hold, according to the police. Anuj Sharma, the fire services director of West Bengal, gave the toll and described the conditions inside.

Nine people were killed, including a child, in the fire that broke out early on Wednesday. Thick smoke enveloped the hotel. Some victims were found in the bathrooms.

Anuj Sharma, fire services director of West Bengal

He said preliminary information suggested that an air conditioning unit in the hotel may have exploded and started the fire. A forensic team was sent into the building once the fire had been brought under control. Six people were taken to hospital with injuries.

Where the victims were found

That bodies were recovered from bathrooms is the detail that matters for anyone who designs, manages or insures this kind of building. It is the signature of smoke spread reaching sleeping occupants before any means of escape did, and of people retreating to the only room with a door and a water supply because the corridor was already lost.

Nothing has yet been published about detection, about alarm coverage, about the protection of the escape route or about whether the building had a fire safety system at all. The forensic examination will reach those questions. The fire services director has confined himself so far to the toll, the conditions and the suspected source.

The mission's own account

The Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata sent officials to the scene and issued a written statement, which is the primary record for the nationality of those who died.

According to local authorities, a total of nine people have died in the fire so far. Local police have confirmed the identities of five Bangladeshi nationals among the deceased.

Statement of the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata

The mission said the identities of the remaining victims had not been confirmed by local authorities, that six injured Bangladeshi nationals had been released after primary treatment, and that it had opened a round the clock helpline and was in continuous contact with the hospital and the police. The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, said he was extremely pained by the loss of life and wished the injured an early recovery.

The second in three days

It is the second fatal hotel fire in West Bengal this week. On Monday eight people died in a fire at a hotel in the town of Tarapith, where visitors had gathered for the month of Shravan.

Two buildings, three days, seventeen dead, and in both cases people who had checked into a room for the night and had no way out of it.