Two of family killed in early morning fire in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Two members of a family were killed in a devastating fire that broke out at a footwear factory at the Topsia area in South Kolkata early on Thursday.

The deceased have been identified as Md Nasim Akhtar (65) and his son Md Amir (25).

Both were workers of a footwear factory. A third person has been rescued under extremely critical condition and taken to a local hospital.

A fire services department official said that the small room from where the bodies were recovered were stocked with highly inflammable items.

"We are not quite sure as yet about the reason of the fire and in probability we presume that electrical short circuit was the reason," the official said.

However, neither the fire services department nor the local police could confirm whether the factory had the fire safety clearance or not.

Meanwhile, the local people have alleged several factories are running at this congested Topsia area flouting all norms and with having requisite fire safety clearance.

"In the past too, there had been several incidents of such fatal fire in the area. However, there had been no visible attempt by the authorities to take steps against these illegal factories," a local person said.