Kolkata, 19 August (H.S.): Five Bangladeshi nationals were among the nine people killed in a massive fire that broke out at a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in Kolkata's Dharmatala area on Tuesday night. Mohammad Khaled, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata, confirmed the information. The Kolkata Police, however, has so far not issued any official statement on the identities or nationalities of the deceased.

According to the information available, four of the five Bangladeshi nationals were residents of Kushtia, while one was from Savar in Dhaka. The deceased have been identified as Debashish Dutta, Sharnashish Dutta, Afsana Shimmin and Mohammad Akram Ali, all from Kushtia, and Ahmed Babu from Savar in Dhaka. Sharnashish was only three years old.

According to the information, Debashish Dutta had travelled to Bengaluru with his wife Shimmin and their three-year-old son for the child's treatment. The family arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday and checked into a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in the Dharmatala area. All three died after the fire broke out at the hotel that night.

An official from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission visited the local police station and morgue to verify the identities of the deceased. With the assistance of the local police, all five were identified as Bangladeshi nationals.

Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Mohammad Khaled also visited the site of the incident.

The fire broke out at the Shikha Inn Hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street in Dharmatala on Tuesday night. Nine people died after being trapped in the hotel amid the fire and thick smoke.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh