Lucknow: At least 14 people lost their lives and several others were injured in a huge blaze on Monday at a coaching centre in the Aliganj area of Lucknow, leading to a massive rescue endeavour by the firefighters, police, and NDRF teams.
The fire had originated in the commercial building, which was used to run a coaching centre and some shops, including a pet store. Students and staff were unable to escape the building as the smoke thickened quickly. The smoke filled the building quickly and many students and staff were found trapped. Students tried to exit by leaping from the first floor, with witnesses saying to see their friends running and screaming down was ‘crazy’.
Firefighters were on the scene for over an hour and tried to bring the fire under control. The authorities recovered 13 bodies from one of the buildings after the operation, and several persons who were touched by them were rushed to adjacent hospitals for treatment.
The victims tried desperately to get out of the building, as captured in video from the scene. In the most popular video, a fella climbs out through a broken window and then loses his balance and slips onto a fence below. He survived, with injuries, but received medical attention.
Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh BrajeshPathak reviewed the situation at the scene and stated that a detailed search operation and rescue work is on. He said the search was taking place in all the rooms, and he was launching a high-level probe into the incident.
The witnesses stated that it took only a few minutes for the fire to get through the upper levels of the building as students were learning how to animate and various other courses.
PM Narendra Modi said he felt sad on hearing of the tragedy and announced compensation of ₹2 lakh for the victims who have lost their lives and ₹50,000 for those injured.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the blaze, and inquiries are being made into the safety protocols and emergency response procedures of businesses involving education.