Kolkata: Three residents of Odisha were among the victims of the devastating fire that broke out at Rituraj hotel in the Burra Bazar area of Kolkata, West Bengal, on Tuesday night. As of Wednesday morning, at least 14 people have been confirmed dead in the incident.

Per sources, the deceased from Odisha have been identified as Dushmanta Kumar Nayak (46), Dushmanta Kumar Swain (46), and Manoj Kumar Patra (45), all hailing from Jagatsinghpur district. The fire engulfed the six-storey hotel located on Madan Mohan Burman Street.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹2 lakh each to the families of the deceased, and ₹50,000 for each of the injured. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also declared an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for those injured.

Preliminary investigations suggest negligence on the part of the hotel management. Authorities cited inadequate internal fire extinguishing systems, lack of proper emergency exits, and poor ventilation as key factors that contributed to the tragedy.