5 Meghalaya tourists among 8 dead in West Bengal hotel fire, 'emergency exits were locked'

Seven people were killed and several others injured after a fire broke out at a hotel in West Bengal’s Tarapith.

According to police, the fire erupted around 5 am on the ground floor of the four-storey hotel in the temple town of Tarapith, when most of the guests were asleep.

The injured were rushed to Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital for treatment, news agency PTI reported.

Hotel officials said the blaze was caused by a short circuit.

Hospital initially reported that five people had died in the blaze, but police later revised the death toll to seven.

“The death toll is seven now,” a senior police official said according to PTI.

A woman from Kolkata who escaped the fire recalled the panic inside the hotel, saying the building was suddenly filled with smoke, making it difficult to breathe and find an exit.

Officials said some of those killed were pilgrims who had travelled to Tarapith to offer prayers at the town’s famous Kali temple.