A major fire engulfed a godown-cum-office complex in a market in Kolkata early on Wednesday, leaving 18 people dead and 50 others injured.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) Javed Shamim said the fire started at 3.50am when the victims were fast asleep. The injured were rushed to state-run NRS and Medical College hospitals.
Fire services minister Javed Khan told that six persons were brought out from the burning godown in an by firemen.
He said 26 fire tenders fought the blaze for over three hours to bring the situation under control.
The cause of the fire and the extent of damage were under investigation, police said.
Khan, who rushed to the spot and personally supervised fire fighting operations, said there was no fire safety arrangement in the market and blamed the market authorities for the lapse.
“We will take action against the market authorities for not having any fire safety arrangement”, the minister said.
