City (Rajasthan):

A fire broke out at a boys’ dormitory on Sunday morning, injuring eight students, police said, with initial reports suggesting the fire was caused by a short circuit.

Taking note of the incident at Adarsh ​​Residency in Laxman Vihar, the Kota district administration ordered the hotel to be sealed for “non-compliance of safety measures and lack of fire NOC (No Objection Certificate), Rakesh Vyas, fire ” said an official of the Kota Municipal Corporation.

Rakesh Vyas said around 2,200 hotels in Kota-South and Kota-North have been issued “notices for non-compliance with fire safety norms and action will be taken against these hotels soon”.

Kota City Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan said the incident occurred at around 6.15 am in the Landmark City area within the limits of Kunhari police station.

Police said initial investigations suggested a short circuit in a transformer installed on the ground floor of the five-story dormitory building caused the fire, but forensic teams were working to determine the exact cause of the fire. event.

Rakesh Vyas said it was shocking that the transformer was installed inside the hostel building. He said if the incident had occurred at a certain time during the night, it could have been tragic.

Eight students were injured in the incident; police said six of them suffered minor burn injuries and were undergoing preliminary treatment at the Mahara Bhim Singh (MBS) Hospital.

SP Duhan said two boys were taken to hospital with one suffering burns to his arms, chest and neck and the other suffering a broken leg.

The student, who suffered a broken leg, jumped from the first floor of the building along with 14 others to escape the fire, they added.

Bhavishya Dungeria, a NEET from Chindwara in Madhya Pradesh who lives in the building, sustained an ankle injury in the incident. He said he was woken up by a loud noise around 6.15am and when he walked out of the room he found thick smoke everywhere.

He said the students decided to jump from the first floor because the stairs were filled with smoke and there was no other way out.

The building has 75 rooms, 61 of which are occupied, police said.

When the fire broke out, some students climbed onto the roof of the building, others tried to climb down from the walls and windows, and some jumped from the first floor and injured their legs.

SP Duhan said two firefighters rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze within an hour. The fire was contained before it spread upstairs.

Arvind Bhardwaj, circle inspector of Kunhari police station, said all the students have been rescued from the building.

Parents of students are being contacted to ensure their wards are safe, he added.

Fire official Vyas said the hotel was sealed on the orders of the Kota district collector for non-compliance with fire safety norms.

Meanwhile, two other hotels in the same area – Gyandeep and Paras Jeevandeep – were also sealed on Sunday for similar violations despite receiving multiple notices, he added.

About 2,200 hostels in South Kota and North Kota have been issued notices for “non-compliance with fire safety norms” and action will be taken against them soon. However, students staying in these hostels poses a barrier to movement as Vyas said students cannot be disturbed during exams nor can they be moved elsewhere.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)