At least nine killed in hotel fire in India's Kolkata

Aug 19 (Reuters) - At ‌least nine people, ​including ​five Bangladeshi nationals, were killed, in a fire at a hotel in India's eastern ‌city of Kolkata on Wednesday, local police and ⁠Bangladesh's foreign ministry said.

• The fire broke out at around 2:50 ‌a.m. (2120 GMT Tuesday) on ‌the second floor of the hotel building and was brought under control within an hour, a senior police ​officer told Reuters.

• A child was among those killed in the blaze, which may have been ⁠triggered by an electrical short circuit, the officer said.

• Four of the five ​Bangladeshis killed were from the same family, Bangladesh's foreign ministry said, adding six more of ​its nationals were injured but ‌were discharged after receiving first aid.

• Koushik Chowdhury, the fire minister of West Bengal ⁠state, of which Kolkata is the capital, said around 80 people were rescued.

• A five-member team has been formed to ⁠conduct a "comprehensive inquiry" into the incident, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari ​said in a post on X.

• The Bangladeshi nationals were in Kolkata for medical treatment, news agency ANI, in which Reuters ‌has a minority stake, reported earlier.

• The hotel is located in a congested area ‌in the central part of the city, known for ⁠budget accommodations and restaurants.

(Reporting by ‌Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar ​and Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Writing by Hritam Mukherjee, Editing by Saad Sayeed and Raju ‌Gopalakrishnan)

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