A Bangladeshi couple visiting Kolkata survived a devastating hotel fire in New Market area on early Wednesday by escaping through a third-floor window and taking shelter on a narrow ledge.
The couple, identified as Sumaiya Akhtar and her husband Rezaul Islam, had travelled from Bangladesh to Kolkata for a tour and were staying at Shikha Inn hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street when the fire broke out around 1:50am.
According to a report by Kolkata’s daily Anandabazar Patrika, they were eventually rescued with the help of the fire service after using their mobile phone flashlights in the dark to attract attention.
Describing the terrifying incident, Sumaiya recalled that they were woken up by a loud banging on their door. “Opening the door, I saw the entire corridor filled with thick black smoke. There was no way out,” she said.
Under these life-threatening circumstances, Rezaul kept a cool head and decided to avoid the door, opting instead to escape through the window. Squeezing through the third-floor window with his wife, the couple managed to stand on the narrow ledge.
However, their ordeal did not end there. Due to the thick smoke and midnight darkness, it was impossible for people on the street below to see if anyone was trapped on the ledge.
Alongside screaming for help, the couple waved their mobile phone flashlights to attract the attention of pedestrians below.
After they had spent about half an hour trapped on the ledge, residents and fire service personnel spotted their light signals. Fire service personnel then brought a ladder to rescue the couple from the ledge and bring them down safely.
Although several hours have passed since their rescue, the couple remains deeply traumatised, shuddering at the thought of how they climbed out of the window and stood on the ledge at such a height.
The hotel was reportedly accommodating many other guests from Bangladesh who had travelled for medical treatment or business purposes. At least nine people have died in the fire so far, five of whom are Bangladeshi citizens.
