300 tourists escape Cox’s Bazar hotel fire

More than 300 tourists escaped unharmed after a fire broke out at The Sea Presence hotel at Sugandha Point in Cox’s Bazar on Friday afternoon.

The fire started around 4:00pm in the hotel’s ground-floor parking area, prompting guests to leave the building. Firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 30 minutes with help from hotel staff.

A unit of the Fire Service and Civil Defence rushed to the scene after receiving the alert. Parts of the parking area, including a generator, were damaged in the fire. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence, said a unit from the nearest fire station reached the scene promptly and brought the fire under control.
He said a short circuit in the generator was suspected to have caused the fire.

Abdul Kader, managing director of The Sea Presence, said the hotel had adequate firefighting systems in place. He said the staff’s quick response helped prevent a major disaster and confirmed that all guests were safe.

Kader said that the hotel has adequate firefighting facilities and it was possible to avoid a major incident due to quick work by the staff.

Although there were no casualties in the fire, some parts of the parking area, including the generator, were damaged.

The incident comes days after a deadly fire at Tup Tup Resort in the Inani area of Ukhia, where 10 tourists died on October 17.