Fire damages hotel in Darjeeling, no one hurt

Darjeeling: A devastating fire completely gutted the Shangri-la hotel, a landmark structure near the Chowrasta on Thursday. A stray dog trapped on the rooftop of the hotel on fire was rescued by fire fighters.
The two-storey heritage building located on Nehru Road just near Chowrasta was converted into a hotel-cum-restaurant in 1970. It was owned by one Ranjan Lama.
Hotel manager Arun Gurung said the fire started near the chimney and spread to the kitchen and two rooms, gutting them completely.The rooms were not occupied at that time.
According to the general manager, two hotel rooms were occupied by tourists. But the guests were not in the hotel at the time when the fire broke out.
Another hotel employee said the staff was preparing for services that starts after 12.30pm when the fire occurred. “Luckily, no guest or staff of the hotel were injured in the incident,” Gurung said.
Witnesses said the fire started around 11.50am. Fire department reached the spot shortly thereafter. Three fire tenders were deployed to control the flames. It was doused after three hours.
“About 50% of the hotel has been damaged. The outside structure is intact,” said a firefighter.