300 tourists evacuated safely as hotel catches fire in Cox’s Bazar

A fire broke out at The Sea Princess, a residential hotel at Sugandha Point in Cox’s Bazar, on Friday, with around 300 tourists staying at the hotel evacuated safely.

The fire started around 4pm on October 23 in the hotel’s ground-floor parking area.

A Fire Service unit rushed to the scene after receiving the alert. Firefighters, working with hotel staff, brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes. The fire damaged several parts of the parking area, including a generator.

Around 300 tourists were staying in more than 100 rooms at the time. They quickly left the building after the fire broke out and took shelter on the nearby beach. No casualties were reported.

Syed Mohammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence, said a unit from a nearby fire station arrived promptly and brought the fire under control. A short circuit in the generator is suspected to have caused the blaze, he said.

Abdul Kader, the hotel’s managing director, said the establishment had adequate firefighting equipment. The prompt response of hotel staff helped prevent a major accident, he said, adding that all guests were safe.