Just seven days after a fire at the Tup Tup Resort in Patuartek, along Cox’s Bazar’s Marine Drive, claimed 10 lives, another hotel fire occurred in the tourist town on Friday.
This time, the fire broke out at The Sea Princess, a star-rated hotel near Sugandha Point, in the afternoon. The blaze started in the parking area on the hotel’s ground floor.
Around 300 tourists were staying in more than 100 rooms at the hotel at the time. After the fire broke out, they hurried out of the building and took shelter on the adjacent beach.
Fire service personnel brought the blaze under control after about half an hour of effort. No casualties were reported.
Speaking to police, fire service officials and hotel management, it was learnt that the fire started in the hotel’s parking area at around 4:00 pm on Friday. Thick plumes of smoke triggered alarm among passers-by and hotel staff. Tourists staying in various rooms of the nine-storey building also rushed out and made their way to the nearby beach.
After receiving the report, a Fire Service unit arrived at the scene at 4.20 pm. Firefighters, working alongside hotel staff, brought the fire under control in about half an hour. The blaze damaged several parts of the parking area, including a generator.
Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of the Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence, said a unit had been dispatched from the nearest fire station as soon as the fire was reported. The blaze was subsequently brought under control.
Preliminary assessments suggest that a short circuit in the generator may have caused the fire. No one was injured, he added.
Abdul Kader, managing director of The Sea Princess hotel, said adequate firefighting arrangements were in place. The prompt response of the staff had helped avert a major accident, he said, adding that all the tourists staying at the hotel were safe.