TARAPITH: At least seven guests were killed and several others critically injured after a massive fire broke out at a private hotel in Tarapith in West Bengal’s Birbhum district early Monday morning.The fire broke out around 5am on the ground floor of four-storey Hotel Bideshinii, located beside a pond and just a short distance from the Tarapith police station. Most of the guests were asleep when the blaze erupted.The fire quickly engulfed the hotel, filling the premises with thick smoke and trapping guests inside. Firefighters rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control. The injured were rescued and taken to Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital for treatment.Hotel officials said an electrical short circuit may have triggered the fire. The exact cause is yet to be confirmed by authorities.Munmun Mondal, a guest who managed to escape, said, “Suddenly the entire hotel was engulfed with smoke. We couldn’t breathe and couldn’t find an escape route immediately.”Tarapith was particularly crowded as Monday marked the last Monday of Shravan, drawing large numbers of devotees to the temple town.Priya Roy, a local BJP worker who reached the spot to help with the rescue, said, “As it was raining early in the morning, the boarders were sleeping soundly and we too initially couldn’t understand what had happened inside the hotel.”Authorities are assessing the extent of the damage and the number of people affected in the fire.
