Survivor recalls dark ordeal as smoke filled up the narrow corridor of Hotel Golden Parkk

Recollecting the nightmarish experience of their struggle in the smoky first-floor corridor of Hotel Golden Parkk, Samar Kumar Banerjee believes that he got a new life on Thursday when a few hands reached out to him in that fiery cauldron only to save him from inevitable death.

Banerjee, a resident of Siliguri, along with his wife Sovana, had checked into the hotel on Wednesday evening. The elderly couple, both senior citizens, was scheduled to go to the American Consulate, situated at a stone's throw distance from the hotel on Thursday morning. They had an interview as they were planning a visit to Virginia where their son stays.

Banerjee said they had checked in after their son booked the hotel online for them from the US. But they had never imagined that they would have to fight for the lives just a few hours before their interview for the visa.

They were lodged in room number 119. Samar couldn't sleep and was a bit anxious about the interview. Suddenly, he heard people screaming and the lights went off. He came out of the room when his wife was still sleeping. It was a moment of shock when he stepped out of the room. The corridor was filled with smoke. Realising that something horrible was in store, he woke up his wife and hurried out of the room only with a bag containing their documents.

The corridor was filled with smoke. Realising that something horrible was in store, he woke up his wife and hurried out of the room only with a bag containing their documents.

But they couldn't see anything as the entire corridor was totally dark. The entire hotel was filled with smoke making it extremely difficult to breathe.

"I saw beams of torch lights falling on the glass panels and somehow guessed the side where the staircase stood. Sovana found it quite difficult to walk down the stairs quickly in the dark and we couldn't even breathe properly," he said.

Sovana fell on the staircase and started crying for help. She received minor injuries on her head. Hearing their cries, some youths came forward and rescued the elderly couple.

Surajit Jana and Sahabuddin Mondal, both work in a private firm situated in the adjacent building. They heard the boarders cry in the wee hours and rushed to the spot.

They initiated the rescue work and fire fighters too reached the spot within a short time. Jana said: "Some of the boarders were found trying to climb down the rainwater pipes. But the fire fighters used ladders to rescue them." There were around 31 boarders in the hotel when the fire broke out and 23 were shifted to another hotel in the vicinity.