NEW DELHI – At least nine people, including a child and two women, were killed and six others injured early Wednesday in a devastating fire inside a hotel in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, officials said.

The fire broke out inside a hotel on Mirza Ghalib Street near New Market in central Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal.

Mirza Ghalib Street, also known as Free School Street, is among the city's busiest and most densely populated areas.

Following the fire, the smoke quickly filled the hotel rooms and staircase, triggering panic among guests who rushed out in alarm.

Reports said around 60 people were rescued from the building during the operation. The injured have been taken to a nearby hospital.

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The flames have been doused, and the fire has been brought under control. The search inside the building is underway.

Preliminary investigations found that the hotel lacked basic fire safety measures. The cause of the fire, which some reports suggest broke out on the third floor of the hotel, is being ascertained.

The fire comes two days after eight people were killed and several others injured in a similar blaze inside a hotel in Tarapith town of Birbhum district, about 220 km north of Kolkata.