PATNA, India (AP) — A huge fire that ripped through a restaurant and hotel in eastern India on Thursday killed at least six people and injured 20, a local firefighter said.
The fire started when a cooking gas cylinder exploded while customers were eating at the restaurant, and soon spread to an adjacent hotel in Patna, the capital of Bihar state, said Satya Prakash, the official.
At least 40 people were rescued from the two buildings by firefighters who put out the blaze using more than a dozen fire engines, Prakash said.
The hotel is in a congested area close to Patna railway station. Several vehicles parked at the hotel were destroyed, Prakash said.
He said some hotel guests jumped from their room windows and were injured. Other details were not immediately available.
Fires are common in India, where builders and residents often disregard building laws and safety codes.
In 2019, a fire caused by an electrical short circuit engulfed a building in the Indian capital and killed 43 people. In 2022, a fire in a four-story commercial building in New Delhi killed at least 27 people.
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