Fresh hotel fire in Cox’s Bazar

A fire broke out at The Sea Princess, a star hotel next to Sugandha Point in Cox’s Bazar town, on Friday afternoon, just seven days after a blaze at the Tuptup Resort in Patuartek on Marine Drive killed 10 people.

The fire started in the hotel’s ground-floor parking area. About 300 tourists were staying in more than 100 rooms at the time.

They quickly left the building and took shelter on the adjacent beach.
No one was injured or killed.

According to police, fire service officials and hotel authorities, the fire began around 4:00pm.

Smoke billowing from the parking area caused panic among passersby and hotel staff.

Tourists in rooms across the nine-storey building rushed out and gathered on the beach.

A fire service unit reached the scene at 4:20pm after being alerted. Firefighters and hotel staff then worked together to bring the blaze under control in about 30 minutes.

The generator and several other parts of the parking area were damaged.

Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, Assistant Director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence in Cox’s Bazar, said a unit was dispatched from the nearest fire station as soon as the call came in, and the fire was then brought under control.

“Initially, it is suspected that the fire started from a short circuit in the generator,” he said. “No one was hurt in the incident.”

Abdul Kader, managing director of The Sea Princess, said the hotel had adequate firefighting arrangements in place.

He said the swift response of staff averted a major accident, and that all guests were safe.

The incident has drawn attention to fire safety at hotels and resorts in the tourist town, coming so soon after the Patuartek tragedy.

The cause of Friday’s fire has not been confirmed, and the generator short circuit remains a preliminary assessment.