Kolkata: When smoke began filling their second-floor room at Shikha Inn on Mirza Ghalib Street, tourists Rizaul Islam and Sumaiya Akhtar knew that stepping out into the corridor could be a fatal mistake. With the passage outside their room engulfed in smoke, the young couple broke open a window and climbed onto a plastic parapet outside. What followed was nearly 30 minutes of fear and uncertainty, as they stood on the unstable structure, desperately trying to attract the attention of people below.Islam and Akhtar had checked into Shikha Inn, located inside a building on Mirza Ghalib Street, on Tuesday evening. When the fire broke out on Wednesday, smoke quickly entered their room.“The entire corridor was filled with smoke, and our room also started filling with smoke. I knew if we stepped out into the corridor, we might not make it out alive. The only option was to climb out of the window,” said Islam.He asked his wife whether she would be able to take the risky step. “She said we had no other option,” he said.The couple spent 30 minutes balancing themselves on the parapet that shook beneath their weight while using the flashlights on their phones to draw attention from the street below.“We knew it was a huge risk because the plastic parapet was not stable, but we had no choice. We were also crying out for help,” Akhtar said. Their desperate efforts eventually paid off. A passer-by riding a scooter spotted the duo and alerted the firefighters, who finally rescued them. Around 80 people were rescued from the building, but Islam and Akhtar were the only people from Shikha Inn to survive, officials said.The couple later checked into another hotel in the city but the ordeal has continued to haunt them. “We have not been able to sleep,” one of them said.They got in touch with their families in Dhaka who have asked them to return. “Our Kolkata holiday turned into a night we are unlikely to forget,” said Islam.
