Flames rise from the fire that broke out at a hotel in Kolkata.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: The two children and their grandfather were enjoying their vacation in Kolkata at the Rituraj Hotel when a massive fire engulfed the premises killing them instantly. The deceased are 61-year-old Muthukrishnan and his grandchildren Diya and Rithan.
The family –Prabhu, his wife Madhumitha, her father Muthukrishnan, and the two kids -- left on a tour to New Delhi from Karur district in Tamil Nadu on April 18 and reached Kolkata on April 29 after visiting places like Delhi. The couple left their children with Muthukrishnan and went out on Tuesday evening by promising them to return for dinner.
“We got a call from Prabhu at around 1 am in the wee hours of Wednesday informing us about the death of his father-in-law and two children. He said they died of suffocation due to the fire that engulfed the hotel premises,” Shanthini, a relative, said.
Another relative said the hotel had five floors and the three were inside their room when the fire ripped through the premises. “They went on a fortnight-long tour and we never expected three of them to return as lifeless bodies,” the relative said.
Their native village in Karur district mourned their death on Wednesday with relatives asking the state government to take efforts to bring their bodies as early as possible.
Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled the death of the three members from the same family and assured that the state government will stand by the bereaved family.