Identities of five Bangladeshis killed in Kolkata hotel fire confirmed

At least five Bangladeshis were killed in a devastating fire at a residential hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, early Wednesday (August 19). According to local authorities, nine people died in the incident, of whom local police have confirmed five as Bangladeshi nationals.

The information was provided in a press release from the Foreign Ministry.

The press release said media reports indicated that several Bangladeshi nationals had died in a fire at a hotel in Kolkata early in the morning. Upon receiving the news, officials from the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata rushed to the scene to gather information about the deceased and the injured.

According to local authorities, a total of nine people have died in the fire so far, of whom five have been identified by local police as Bangladeshi nationals.

Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Kolkata Mohammad Khaled confirmed the information. He said the five confirmed Bangladeshi nationals include four from Kushtia and one from Dhaka. They are Debashis Dutta, Afsana Shimmin, Sharnashish Dutta and Md Akram Ali from Kushtia, and Ahmed Babu from Savar, Dhaka.

Mohammad Khaled said an official from the Deputy High Commission visited the police station and the morgue; he, along with local police, confirmed the identities of the five Bangladeshis. Efforts are underway to determine whether any other Bangladeshis are among the other victims, the Deputy High Commission said.