FIFTEEN people were “brought dead” at a hospital here and seven injured were undergoing treatment after a massive fire gutted a three-floor commercial building housing an animation centre on Monday, according to a hospital official. Three people were arrested in connection with fire on Monday. Dr Anil Agrawal, Medical Superintendent, Trauma Centre, KGMU, said that “21 to 22 children were been brought in” after the incident. “Fifteen people have been brought in a deceased state. They will be sent to the morgue for autopsy after completing the inquest procedure. Five had minor injuries and were admitted. Due to two children jumping, they suffered back injuries, so they are also being treated after CT scans and other procedures,” he said. Eyewitnesses said several people jumped out of the building as fire engulfed the structure that also has a pet clinic.

 

Fourteen fire tenders, including a hydraulic platform vehicle, were deployed to control the blaze that was reported at around 3 pm from the building located at Usha Mehta Marg in Aliganj area. “The fire broke out suddenly. It was an animation centre. While there is no immediate clarity about the sequence of events, it seems that the children ran towards the back side when the fire broke out but they couldn’t survive. While there is no clarity about the exact figure, but I saw 11-12 bodies from my own eyes,” Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who was at the site, told reporters.

 

PTI witnessed 11 people, who were caught in the blaze, being taken out of the building during the rescue operation. Some were carried in body bags while others were wrapped in blankets. They were brought out from the terrace of an adjoining building, where rescue teams had drilled two large openings into the affected building to gain access while the fire was still raging. Senior officials, including Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad, DGP Rajeev Krishna and Lucknow Police Commissioner Amrendra Sengar, reached the spot to monitor rescue operation. An FIR was registered at Aliganj police station in the case under sections of the BNS and the UP Fire and Emergency Services Act against six named accused and other persons. Those arrested have been identified as Ram Krishna Upadhyay, a resident of Sector-D, Aliganj; Virendra Prasad Shukla, a resident of Sitapur Road area; and Tushar Krishna Jaiswal, a resident of Balaganj area.

 

The accused were joint owners of the building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of live and 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. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cut short his visit to Aligarh and returned to Lucknow after receiving information about the fire tragedy. President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan on Monday condoled the loss of lives in the fire incident. Said she was extremely sad to know about the loss of lives in a horrific fire accident in Lucknow and expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Expressing grief over the incident, Vice President Radhakrishnan said, “The loss of lives is deeply painful. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of the injured.”