Bhubaneswar: It was the longest and horrifying night for a family from Odisha’s Bargarh caught in the Tuesday hotel fire in central Kolkata.
Akash and Neha Agarwal, along with their 16-year-old nephew Lokesh, were trapped in their fourth-floor room at Rituraj Hotel in Burrabazar area during the fire on April 26 as they were waiting to check out.
They had come to Kolkata to watch an IPL match on Saturday, which was eventually washed out due to rain, and to shop for a family event.
Unable to escape through the smoke-filled hallway and struggling to breathe, they spotted a narrow window grille opening. They squeezed through to a third-floor ledge, clinging to it for 30 agonising minutes before being rescued by firefighters using a ladder. Neha, who has breathing issues and anxiety, remained calm during the ordeal, according to reports.
Their teenage nephew, Mayank, and Akash’s sons, Sarvesh and Ayansh, were already safely downstairs.
Grateful but shaken, the family retrieved their belongings the next day, vowing never to stay in Burrabazar again. They relocated to a hotel near EM Bypass, ensuring it had proper fire safety measures, still haunted by the nightmare they survived, the reports added.
Also Read: Cuttack Businessman & 3 Others From Odisha Among 14 Killed In Kolkata Hotel Fire
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police have arrested owner of Rituraj Hotel Akash Chawla and manager Gourav Kapoor, in connection with the fire incident in which 14 people lost their lives.
Earlier speaking to the media, West Bengal Fire & Emergency Services DG Ranvir Kumar said that plywood and other combustible materials were stored in the first floor, which was being renovated. “Some fire was initiated, probably while the work was being done, and it spread. We perceive that the smoke got trapped in the stairs and travelled to the second and third floors because of the fire. That is why there were more casualties… The fire extinguishing systems here were in a defunct condition. None of the sprinklers, the fire detection system, or the alarms worked… The hotel authority had taken an FSC (Fire Safety Certificate) in 2016 and renewed it for the subsequent few years. But it had not been renewed in the last 3 years… ,” he added.