A fire tore through a hotel in India’s eastern city of Kolkata, killing at least nine people including a child, the latest in a series of fire incidents in the state.

The blaze erupted around 2am local time on Wednesday when guests were asleep in the hotel located on the highly congested Mirza Ghalib Street, formerly known as Free School Street in the central part of the city.

The four-year-old child and eight other people killed in the blaze have been identified as Bangladeshi nationals who had come to India for medical treatment, the Fire Department said.

At least 28 people were rescued from the hotel, the local police said. Six people with injuries were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The fire broke out on the second floor of the Sikha Inn, according to reports.

Local media reports suggested the fire was triggered by an air conditioner explosion. However, the authorities said they were still investigating the cause of the blaze.

"The dense smoke made it difficult for firefighters to climb the staircase and reach the upper floors. While nine people have died, more deaths are feared," a police officer told PTI news agency.

"People could not escape, and several rooms had no windows. We could bring out a couple from a room which had a window," he said.

The budget hotel was located across two floors of an ageing building that housed several such small inns, mostly catering to Bangladeshi travellers in the area. Footage from Wednesday morning showed the building, which reportedly did not have any fire escape route or fire extinguishers, was completely burnt down.

Atiyar Rehman, from Satkhira in Bangladesh, claimed there was no firefighting mechanism in the hotel.

"We woke up struggling to breathe in the smoke. We somehow managed to escape," he told The Indian Express newspaper.

The hotel only had a small gate for entrance and exit, which made it difficult for trapped people to exit the building, locals said. Police have initiated a manhunt to trace the absconding owner of the hotel.

Resident Meena Devi claimed that the premises lacked adequate fire safety arrangements. She told the Telegraph: "We were brought out by the fire brigade personnel and the staff of one of the several hotels operating from the building, amid dense smoke.”

Four fire tenders were pressed into service along with a disaster management team to bring the blaze under control, the officials said.

State minister Koushik Chowdhury said after visiting the site many of the victims were believed to have died from smoke inhalation.

Several people were unable to escape to safety and some rooms lacked windows, he said, adding that rescue teams managed to save a couple from a room that had a window.

The government would conduct fire safety inspections at hotels across the state in the wake of the blaze, he added.

Minister Agnimitra Paul said ten hotels were operating in the same building.

“This cannot be allowed... The police are looking into the matter... Definite action will be taken," she told reporters.

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari expressed "shock and anguish" over the incident and announced the formation of a five-member Special Investigation Team to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.

The incident comes just two days after another deadly blaze tore through a hotel in West Bengal's Birbhum district, killing at least nine pilgrims. The fire erupted around 4.30am on Monday on the ground floor of the five-storey hotel next to the popular Hindu pilgrimage site Tarapith.

The state government issued closure notices to 15 hotels near the temple for allegedly operating without fire licences.

In June, at least 21 people, including several foreign nationals, who were staying in Delhi for medical treatment were killed when a fire engulfed a budget hotel next to a popular hospital.

Budget hotels, which cost guests anywhere between Rs1,500 (£11) and Rs3,000 (£23) per night, have mushroomed across Indian cities near major hospitals as India continues to draw foreigners for medical tourism.

In April 2025, two children were among 14 people killed in a fire at a Kolkata hotel located in the congested Burrabazar neighbourhood.