A fire broke out at a multi-storey hotel in Cox’s Bazar’s Kolatoli hotel-motel zone on Thursday evening also triggering panic among more than 50 tourists before firefighters brought the blaze under control.
According to eyewitnesses and hotel officials, the fire started around 6:30 pm on the fifth floor of the eight-storey Cox’s Ambassador Hotel. Thick black smoke quickly filled the building, prompting guests to rush outside in fear. Two units of the Cox’s Bazar Fire Service arrived promptly and extinguished the blaze by 7:30 pm.
Confirming the incident Cox’s Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Director Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain said an electrical short circuit in an air-conditioning unit sparked the fire. "No tourists or staff were injured or killed," he added.
The incident adds to a troubling string of fires in the country's premier beach town, raising serious questions about visitor safety. Just two days earlier, on November 10, a blaze on Saikatpara Road destroyed four homes near high-rise hotels. On October 23, another fire hit the Sea Princess Hotel at Sugandha Point following a devastating October 17 blaze at the wooden-built TupTup Resort in Ukhia that killed 11 tourists.
Official data from the district administration and the Fire Service reveals that nearly 90 percent of the more than 500 hotels, resorts and guesthouses in Cox’s Bazar lack adequate modern fire-safety systems. Officials warn that failing to enforce strict compliance across these establishments leaves thousands of visitors exposed to potentially catastrophic risks.
