The fire that occurred in Lucknow’s Aliganj area on Monday, killing 15 people, most of them students, may have started in the building’s air-conditioning duct, with smoke leading to suffocation due to the lack of a proper exit route, Uttar Pradesh Urban Development and Energy Minister AK Sharma said.
He added that all possible loopholes in construction standards will be investigated.
Here’s everything that happened
15 dead: At least 15 people were killed and nine others injured in a deadly fire that engulfed a three-storey building on Usha Mehta Marg in Aliganj area of Lucknow on Monday. The agency reported that most of the victims were trapped on the second floor, where students were attending classes at the center.
“A total of 22 people were brought to the Trauma Center of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) following the incident. 15 of them were declared brought dead, while five injured were admitted for treatment and are in stable condition,” KGMU PRO Professor KK Singh told PTI.
The deceased have been identified as Sagar, Nilesh, Anamika, Sanyam, Anusha, Sukhmani, Aditya Srivastava, Jyoti, Bhavishya, Abdul Rehman, Suraj Bhar, Sehjan, Jainil Chakraborty, Mohammad Amar, and Somalia, according to a list issued by the hospital cited by PTI.
Nineteen fire engines, along with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and other rescue personnel, were deployed to douse the fire, which was reported at around 3pm.
Four arrested: Police said four people have been arrested so far. The officials identified them as Ram Krishna Upadhyay (43 years old), Virendra Prasad Shukla (62 years old), Toshuk Krishna Jaiswal (31 years old), and Suresh Kumar Sahu.
Also Read: People cling to ropes as fire rips through Lucknow building, killing 15: Video
Four officials suspended from work: Four officials were also suspended with immediate effect in connection with the Aliganj fire incident, on the orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The suspended officials are Gaurav Kumar, executive engineer (assembly) of Jankipuram division of the power ministry; Kamilendra Kumar Singh, Fire Station Safety Officer (FSSO) of Indira Nagar Fire Department; Anil Kumar, Assistant Engineer (AE) at Lucknow Development Authority (LDA); and Pramod Pandey, Junior Engineer (JE) at LDA.
Pictures show students jumping: Footage from the site showed firefighters and rescue personnel lowering the stranded passengers to safe places from the upper floors. Police sources said that some students jumped from the building while trying to escape the rapidly spreading fire.
“Due to jumping, two children suffered back injuries and are being treated after CT scans and other procedures,” said Dr Anil Agrawal, medical superintendent at the trauma centre, according to PTI.
Announce as a giveaway: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who visited the site, announced the donation $5 thousand for each family of the dead $50,000 for the injured. He also formed a two-member special investigation team to investigate the tragedy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced a donation $2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the kin of each deceased, while the injured will receive $50,000.
