A man and his elder son who worked in a unit where the manufacturer’s label is stamped on slippers and slept at the unit after duty, were charred in an early morning fire on Thursday.
The younger son, who also works at the unit, managed to escape and has been admitted to a hospital.
Police identified the deceased as Mohammad Nasim Akhtar, 50, and his elder son Mohammad Amir, 27. Akhtar’s younger son Mohammad Jasim has been admitted to the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital.
People in the neighbourhood said thick fumes were spotted coming out of a building located in a congested area at the Topsia First Lane in southeast Kolkata around 6.30am.
“We saw thick smoke coming out of the building along with huge flames leaping out. We immediately alerted the fire department,” said Sheikh Habib, a resident of the locality.
The unit was closed with an iron shutter that opened from the inside. Jasim had managed to sneak out of the building, but his father and elder brother failed.
Four fire tenders doused the flames. After firefighters could enter the premises, the bodies of the father and son were brought out of the building.
Another neighbour said Akhtar and his family live in the same building a part of which has been turned into a manufacturing unit. Akhtar’s wife and daughter were safe as they were sleeping in another room which did not catch fire.
Officials of the fire department said the manufacturing unit that caught fire did not have the necessary fire-fighting gadgets and did not follow the fire safety norms.