Kolkata fire: All 9 victims had used the elevator, says fire services official – Hindustan Times

Nine people who died in the fire that broke out on the 13th floor of the Eastern Railway’s office in central Kolkata on Monday evening, had all used the elevator, said a fire services official on Tuesday.

“The fire which broke out around 6.10pm was brought under control after nearly 11 hours, at around 5am on Tuesday. There are still some pockets where the fire is yet to be doused. Our men are working and all engines are still there,” a said a fire services official on Tuesday morning.

Fire broke out on the top floor of the building that houses the offices of the Eastern Railway at Kolkata’s Strand Road on Monday evening. At least 20 engines were pressed into service.

The deceased include four fire fighters, a Railway Protection Force personnel, an assistant sub-inspector of the Kolkata Police.

Also Read | Kolkata fire: Mamata says no one from railways was present, officials deny claim

Seven bodies were found in an elevator, two in another one. “Nearly all (seven) the bodies were lying inside the elevator…They had used the elevator to climb up. As the floor was on fire and it was hot, the moment the elevator door opened, they got charred,” Sujit Bose, state fire minister told mediapersons late on Monday night.

Later, the other two bodies were found inside a second elevator, fire brigade officials said.

“I learnt from the fire brigade personnel that the victims died because they used the elevator. They got charred because of the blaze. One shouldn’t use the elevator when a fire breaks out…Maybe they were in a hurry…It is very unfortunate and sad incident,” chief minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters from the site on Monday.

PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “Saddened by the loss of lives due to the fire tragedy in Kolkata. In this hour of sadness, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest.”

The state government has announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh for each victim’s family and job to a family member. Railways has ordered a high level probe into the incident.

Union railways minister Piyush Goyal tweeted early on Tuesday,“All possible assistance has been provided by the Railways to the State Govt during this unfortunate fire accident. A high level inquiry consisting of four Principal heads of Railway departments has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire.”