Seven people have been killed after a huge fire broke out in an office building in central Kolkata's Strand Road on Monday evening.
Among those dead are four firemen, a police officer and a Railway Protection Force staff, Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Basu said.
Five of the seven bodies were found in an elevator.
The fire is now under control and the cooling process is on, he said.
Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot in the city's central business district, announced the state government will pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those killed in the blaze and government job to the kin of each victim.
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The fire broke out on the 13th floor of the sprawling building at around 6.10 pm. It also has a computerised ticket booking centre on its ground floor.
The CM also went to the SSKM Hospital where the bodies, which are in "very bad shape", were sent for post-mortem examination.
At least 20 fire tenders and two hydraulic ladders were pressed into service to douse the blaze at the building which also has a computerised ticket booking centre on the ground floor.
The four firefighters who died were identified as Girish Dey, Gourav Bej, Aniruddha Jana and Biman Purkayat, a senior official of the state government said.
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Railway Minister Piyush Goyal orders probe:
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has set up a high-level committee to ascertain the cause of the fire at an Eastern Railway office building in Kolkata in which nine people were killed on Monday.
The fire, which broke out on the 13th floor of the sprawling New Koilaghat building on Strand Road at around 6.10 pm on Monday, is now under control and the cooling process is on, officials said.
"Sincere condolences to the families of the nine brave deceased including the four firefighters, two Railways personnel and a police ASI who have been fighting the fire at the Eastern Railways Strand road office in Kolkata.
"Railway officials including the GM are at the site and are working in coordination with the state govt for rescue and relief efforts. We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the safety of all concerned," Goyal said in a tweet late last night.
He said all possible assistance has been provided by the Railways to the state government during this “unfortunate” fire accident.
"A high-level inquiry consisting of four principal heads of Railway departments has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the fire," he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the spot in the city's central business district, announced that the state government will pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each and a government job to the kin of each victim.
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With PTI inputs
