Pall of gloom descends on Karur village as three residents die in Kolkata fire

Police personnel outside the hotel where a fire broke out on Tuesday night, in Kolkata
| Photo Credit: PTI

Shock and grief gripped a village in Karur district on Wednesday (April 30, 2025), after news broke that three of its residents, including two children, tragically lost their lives in a hotel fire in Kolkata on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) evening.

The deceased were identified as Muthukrishnan, 61, P. Diya, 10, and P. Rithan, 3, all of whom hailed from Jothivadam, a small hamlet near Uppidamangalam in Karur district. They were among the 14 people who died in the fire, and were part of a group of five family members who had been on a tour of Kolkata since April 17.

Prabhu, 40, who lost his daughter Diya, son Rithan, and father-in-law Muthukrishnan in the accident, said the family had been staying at the Rituraj Hotel in Kolkata for the past two days. He added that he and his wife Mathumitha, who was also with them, had stepped out to buy dinner when the fire broke out at the hotel. Muthukrishnan, Diya, and Rithan had remained in the room, and could not escape as the intensity of the flames were too high, he said.

“It was all over in a few minutes. There was no clear emergency exit. Though we tried to reach the room, we couldn’t due to the high intensity of the fire. No one should undergo this kind of suffering. It is highly painful for us,” Mr. Prabhu, an aloe vera merchant, told The Hindu over the phone.

He added that the family had already packed their luggage and were getting ready to check out of the hotel after dinner.

When residents of Jothimadam got to know of the incident, they gathered outside Prabhu’s house in the village. Grief-stricken, they offered condolences to the bereaved family.

A few of Prabhu’s family members have left for Kolkata to bring back the bodies of the deceased to the village.