At least 14 have been killed, including two children, in a fierce hotel fire which broke out Tuesday evening in the central business district of Kolkata, a large city in India‘s east.

Police said some 20 people were rescued from the roof of the budget six-story hotel while some were also plucked from narrow ledges on the building.

Some 50 people were in the building at the time of the blaze, with most of the 45 rooms occupied, Reuters reported citing police sources.

One person died jumping from the roof of the Rituraj Hotel, Kolkata’s mayor and other Indian media report.

Most of the dead were found in the hotel’s staircase, and asphyxiation was suspected to be the main cause of death, said West Bengal emergency services minister Sujit Bose.

Inquiry ordered into deadly hotel blaze

A forensic team would visit the site on Wednesday, Bose added. The fire was first reported at 8:15 p.m. (1445 GMT) in a first-floor room close to the kitchen.

An inquiry has been ordered to find out the cause of the fire and why the hotel’s inbuilt fire fighting system did not work.

“The forensic team is visiting the site today and an inquiry has been ordered to find out the cause of the fire. It will also look into why the hotel’s inbuilt fire fighting system did not work,” fire and emergency services minister of West Bengal state, Sunjit Bose said.

Photos and videos carried in Indian media showed people trying to escape through the windows and along ledges.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of those killed.

“May the injured recover soon,” his office said in a statement.

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

The fire apparentely tore through the hotel, although its cause is not yet knownImage: Sahiba Chawdhary/REUTERS

Edited by: Alex Berry