India fire kills at least 18

A devastating fire broke out early Wednesday in a six-story building in a busy market area in Kolkata, India, killing at least 18 people, authorities said. Several more people were injured in the fire in the complex in the Sealdah area, housing warehouses and offices, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. A senior police official said those killed included a woman. At least 15 people had been rescued from the burning building, which was reported just before 4 a.m. as the victims slept, the official said. Six of those rescued from the warehouse were unconscious. It took firefighters more than 3 hours to bring the blaze under control. NDTV television reported at least 17 injured people were taken to area hospitals and that many of them were in critical condition, raising concerns the death toll could rise. The TV channel said the Surya Sen Market complex housed several shops and plastic and paper warehouses. The report said most of those killed were owners of some of the facilities. Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal State of which Kolkata (formerly called Calcutta) is the capital, had arrived at the site. The report said rescue operations were hampered by heavy smoke in the narrow lanes leading to the building. The report said the cause of the blaze was being investigated but initial reports suggested it might have been the result of an electrical short circuit on the first floor. PTI quoted a state minister as saying the entire structure was illegally constructed. "We will take action against the market authorities for not having any fire safety arrangement," he said.