India arrests owner, manager after warehouse blaze kills 25
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Rescuers in Kolkata are still combing through the debris for dozens more still feared missing after the fire.
PHOTO: EPA
KOLKATA, India – Indian police have arrested the owner and manager of a warehouse in Kolkata where at least 25 people died in a blaze, officials said on Jan 30.
Rescuers in the West Bengal state capital were combing through the debris for dozens more still feared missing after the fire that erupted on Jan 26 engulfed two adjacent warehouses, including one belonging to a fast-food company.
“The victims were burnt alive. Rescue teams are digging into the rubble and debris to find charred remains,” Mr Ranvir Kumar, the director-general of fire and emergency services in the eastern state, told AFP.
He said the warehouses did not have fire licence and lacked adequate safety measures.
Kolkata’s Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose said the owner of one of the warehouses and its manager had been arrested, with an investigation under way.
The early morning flames trapped men sleeping inside one of the warehouses and quickly spread to an adjoining building.
“The death toll now stands at 25... but we fear that the number may rise as rescue teams have not been able to clear the wreckage till now,” Mr Bose said.
Some of the victims were burned beyond recognition, he said, adding that families of 27 more people had reported their loved ones were missing.
The incident comes barely a month after a fire ripped through a nightclub in the popular tourist hub of Goa, killing 25 people.
Fires are common in India due to poor construction standards, a lack of firefighting equipment and routine disregard of safety regulations.
In May 2025, 17 people died after a fire ripped through a three-storey building
In April that year, a blaze broke out in a hotel in Kolkata
