Hotel fire in India kills 14, some jumped to escape

Senior police officer Manoj Kumar Verma told reporters that the fire broke out Tuesday evening at the Rituraj Hotel in central Kolkata and was brought under control after an effort that took six fire engines. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

“Several people were rescued from rooms and roof of the hotel”, Verma said.

Photos and videos carried in Indian media showed people trying to escape through the windows and narrow ledges of the building.

Kolkata’s The Telegraph newspaper reported that at least one person died when he jumped off the terrace trying to escape.