A fire broke out on the ground-floor parking area of The Sea Princess, a star-rated hotel adjacent to the Sugandha Point in Cox's Bazar, on Friday afternoon, causing panic among hundreds of guests just seven days after a deadly resort blaze in the district's Patuatek area along the Marine Drive.
The incident occurred at approximately 4:00 PM, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing into the air and triggering immediate alarm among pedestrians and hotel staff. At the time of the fire, roughly 300 tourists were staying across the more than one hundred rooms of the nine-storey building, all of whom managed to evacuate swiftly and take shelter on the adjacent beach.
Fire service personnel arrived at the scene at 4:20 PM following an alert and, working in tandem with the hotel authorities, successfully brought the flames under control within half an hour. The blaze damaged several sections of the parking area, including a generator, though no casualties or injuries were reported.
Syed Muhammad Morshed Hossain, deputy assistant director of the Cox's Bazar Fire Service and Civil Defence, stated that a unit was immediately dispatched from the nearest station upon receiving the report. He added that preliminary investigations suggest the fire originated from an electrical short circuit in the generator.
Abdul Kader, managing director of The Sea Princess hotel, emphasized that the establishment was equipped with adequate fire-fighting arrangements. He noted that the prompt alertness of the staff averted a major disaster and confirmed that all guests currently staying at the hotel remain completely safe.
