Kolkata fire survivors recollect ‘terrifying’ incident

Tragic fire in Kolkata hotel claims 14 lives, including two children from Tamil Nadu, leaving families devastated.

A 10-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy from Tamil Nadu, who were visiting West Bengal with their family, were among the casualties of a fire in a hotel in central Kolkata’s Burrabazar, which took at least 14 lives on Tuesday night. 

On Wednesday (April 30, 2025), after identity verification, the post-mortem of the two children was completed at Kolkata’s Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital (NRSMCH). A sombre atmosphere prevailed outside the hospital morgue, where the bodies of five victims had been sent for post-mortem.

The two children were identified as P. Rathin and P. Diya by the police. The family hails from the southern State’s Karur district, and was on a tour of West Bengal for the past few days.

The bereaved mother, who waited at the hospital morgue for hours on Wednesday afternoon, left in the evening, sobbing profusely as the bodies of her children were taken out in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) hearse vans. 

Weeping, she said her son would go everywhere with his father. “Yesterday, they did not come with us when we stepped out. My son wanted to watch TV. Why did I leave them behind? Why did we not take them along?” she said, overtaken by grief. 

“My children were with me for only a few years. How can I go on without them now? My husband and I were raising them with so much labour and love. He would pick them up; they would kiss us on our cheeks,” she said, speaking in both Tamil and English.

Three acquaintances, possibly Kolkata locals, accompanied her. The grief-stricken mother was surrounded by police personnel and KMC officials, stationed through the day at the NRSMCH.