PTI
Lucknow
A major fire blazed through a three-storey commercial building in a posh Lucknow neighbourhood on a busy Monday afternoon, leaving at least 15 people, mostly students, dead and seven injured, officials said.
Many of the victims were trapped on the second floor of the building, located on Usha Mehta Marg in Aliganj in north Lucknow, where students were attending classes at an animation centre. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Four individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident, police said on Monday night. The accused are joint owners of the building, officials said. Preliminary information suggested the fire may have started in the building’s AC duct and the smoke led to suffocation due to the absence of a proper exit route, UP Urban Development and Energy Minister A K Sharma said.
Eyewitnesses said several people jumped out of the building, which was completely gutted in the fire. The structure also housed a pet clinic from where several animals in distress were rescued.
The victims had to be brought out from the terrace of an adjoining building, where rescue teams had to drill two large openings into the affected building to gain access while the fire was still raging.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath constituted a two-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire tragedy.
Panic-stricken friends and family members of victims, who rushed to the site after receiving frantic calls for help from inside, pleaded with rescuers to save their kin.
Nineteen fire tenders, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other rescue personnel were deployed to douse the blaze reported at around 3 pm and search for survivors. The firefighting team used a hydraulic platform vehicle to control the blaze.
“A total of 22 people were brought to the Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) following the incident. Of them, 15 were declared brought dead, while five injured persons were admitted for treatment and their condition was stable,” King George Medical University (KGMU) PRO Prof K K Singh said.
“Due to two children jumping, they suffered back injuries, so they are also being treated after CT scans and other procedures,” said Dr Anil Agrawal, medical superintendent at the trauma centre.
People were taken out during the rescue operation, with some bodies being carried in body bags and others wrapped in blankets. Visuals from the scene also showed some people rappelling down the wires to escape the blaze.
The Chief Minister cut short his visit to Aligarh and reached the site to review the situation. He later visited the injured at the hospital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan, Defence Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh and others expressed anguish at the loss of lives. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi sent condolence messages over the incident.
Prime Minister Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000. The UP CM also declared an ex-gratia assistance of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of those who died in the fire and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
Firefighters and National Disaster Response Force personnel were conducting a room-to-room search inside the premises till late in the evening.
