Shawdesh Desk:

A fierce fire ripped through a hotel in the Indian city of Kolkata killing at least 15 people, police said Wednesday, with some clambering out of windows and onto the rooftop to escape.

‘Several people were rescued from rooms and roof of the hotel’, Kolkata police chief Manoj Verma told reporters, saying the fire which broke out on Tuesday evening was now under control.

He confirmed ‘at least 15 casualties’.

Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and a routine disregard for safety regulations.

The Press Trust of India news agency, which filmed images of soaring flames from the building, reported that ‘several people were seen trying to escape through the windows and narrow ledges of the building’.

Kolkata’s The Telegraph newspaper reported that at least one person died when he ‘jumped off the terrace trying to escape’ the fire.

Verma said the fire had been tackled and that ‘cooling operations are underway’.