Fire burns a restaurant and hotel in eastern India, killing 6 and injuring 20

PATNA, India (AP) — A major fire that engulfed a restaurant and hotel in eastern India on Thursday killed at least six people and injured 20, a local fire officer said.

The fire began when a cooking gas cylinder exploded while diners were eating in the restaurant, and it soon spread into an adjacent hotel in Patna, the capital of Bihar state, said Satya Prakash, the officer.

At least 40 people were rescued from the two buildings by firefighters who doused the blaze using more than a dozen fire engines, Prakash said.

The hotel is in a congested area next to Patna’s railroad station. Several vehicles parked at the hotel were gutted, Prakash said.

He said some guests in the hotel jumped from their room windows and were injured. Other details were not immediately available.

Fires are common in India, where builders and residents often flout building laws and safety codes.

In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit engulfed a building in the Indian capital and killed 43 people. In 2022, a fire in a four-story commercial building in New Delhi killed at least 27.