Most of the victims of the fire at Rituraj Hotel died from asphyxia, inhalation of carbon, and thermal heat, police said on Wednesday.

Of the 14 people who died in the fire, one was killed trying to jump from the third floor of the hotel building. The fall led to Manoj Paswan’s death, the police said.

Post-mortems of five of the dead were conducted at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, five at NRS Medical College and Hospital and four at Medical College Kolkata.

“Two of the deaths were from thermal burns. The post-mortem suggests that 11 victims died because of asphyxia, inhalation of carbon soot, and thermal heat,” said a Kolkata Police officer.

Asphyxial death results from inadequate oxygen delivery to the body’s tissues.

“The victims had inhaled smoke containing carbon monoxide, which led to the asphyxial deaths,” said an officer.

A forensic and toxicology expert at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital said most of the bodies had turned pale pink because of the lack of oxygen in the tissues.

“There are also minor haemorrhages in the hearts and lungs. Other organs have turned blackish red, which suggests that the organs were not receiving an adequate supply of oxygen,” said the expert.

Most of the victims were found on the second and third floors of the building, said
police.

The fire had started on the first floor.

“Many of the victims had locked themselves in their rooms, while some others were found in the lobbies and staircases, probably trying to escape,” said an officer.

The post-mortems were completed by Wednesday afternoon. Relatives and friends of some of the victims were near the morgues, while family members of some others were yet to arrive.

Mahinder Pandey, a resident of Burrabazar, was at NRS Medical College and Hospital where the post-mortem of his friend Manoj Patra was going on.

Patra, a resident of Odisha, was staying at Rituraj Hotel. He was to leave for Bihar for work.

“He was a close friend and we would meet whenever he visited Calcutta,” said Pandey.

Patra had called Pandey on Tuesday evening.

“My friend said he had come to Calcutta and that we should meet. When I called him at night, I could not get in touch with him. I went to the hotel, which is near my house,” said Pandey.

He saw the fire and asked the police about Patra.

He was told that the dead and injured were taken to different hospitals.

He managed to locate Patra’s body at NRS hospital. Pandey informed Patra’s
family in Odisha about the tragedy.

Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim, who visited NRS hospital on Wednesday afternoon, said the bodies not handed over to family members would be kept at Peace World.

“The police have been asked to coordinate with the family members and hand over the bodies when they reach Calcutta. Till then, the bodies would be kept at Peace World,” said Hakim.