'I saw death very close,' says Bangladeshi survivor of Kolkata hotel fire
A fire broke out late on Tuesday night, at a residential hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market in Kolkata, India. Nine people, including a child, died in that horrific fire. Kolkata police and the local fire service have confirmed that the deceased individuals are Bangladeshi citizens. Bangladeshi designer and entrepreneur Anik Kundu was inside the building where the fire broke out. He has not yet recovered from the trauma of the night's events. Amidst this, he has written on Facebook about his experience of escaping alive along with his parents. With his permission, that writing is presented below with minor editing.
If you have friends and relatives who have come to Kolkata for travel or medical treatment, please check on them.
A fire broke out yesterday (19 August) at around 2 am in the building next to the fire brigade on Mirza Ghalib Street in the New Market area.
The building and its surrounding area are largely frequented by Bangladeshis, as Bangladeshis usually stay in this area when they visit Kolkata.
The fire broke out in the lobby on the second floor. We were on the third floor. My parents, I, a couple and their child from the neighbouring room and another man were trapped inside. All of us were Bangladeshis.
The stairs were filled with thick smoke, so we could not get to the roof or go downstairs. Somehow, we opened the ventilator of the bathroom window and called the fire service, telling them that we were trapped on the fourth floor and could not breathe.
Meanwhile, the building’s glass windows started shattering and air conditioners began exploding. Shortly before the fire was brought under control, firefighters managed to rescue us and take us downstairs.
I saw death from very close. As far as I know, I saw three ambulances carrying dead bodies and injured people leave the scene. No one is being allowed to enter the building now. No hotel was willing to give us a room. We spent the night outside and managed to get a room at another hotel in the morning.
Many people have died, including men, women and children. Most of them may have been Bangladeshis or Indians. We could not find out. With the help of the police and fire service, I managed to retrieve some of my belongings and move to another hotel. All of us are physically safe. By the grace of God, we survived this time.
Every nanosecond in that bathroom, I felt that we would not survive. We came to Kolkata for medical treatment, hoping to return safely but it felt as though we had come here to die.
The sparks I saw on the stairs and in the lift were no less terrifying than seeing death from so close.
Stay safe, everyone. Every city, let it be Dhaka or Kolkata seems like a ticking time bomb. There seems to be no proper firefighting arrangements anywhere. Will businesses only keep making money? Where does human life truly hold value?
Many of us may have had our last meeting with people we knew. So, please treat everyone well as much as you can.