For Akash Agarwal and his wife, it was a narrow escape. The Agarwal family, comprising Akash and his wife and their two children and a nephew, was visiting from Odisha, and waiting to check out of Rituraj Hotel in Burrabazar area of Kolkata on Tuesday evening when fire broke out.

“My children and nephew were waiting downstairs with luggage, while my wife and I went upstairs to bring the remaining luggage downstairs, when suddenly the fire broke out. My wife and I got stuck in the room, and the smoke started to fill the room. We had no other way than to get out through the window. Luckily, the window had no iron grill. So, we broke the window and stepped out on the parapet. We were standing on the parapet for close to an hour, but it seemed an endless wait for the fire officials to come,” said Akash as he waited for the police to hand over his luggage on Wednesday.

The Agarwals were in Kolkata for shopping for their family event. And every time they visited Kolkata, they stayed at Rituraj Hotel. Akash admits that there were no safety measures in the hotel, but he could never imagine that it would be a life and death situation for them.