Lucknow: At least 15 people, including five women, were killed and nine injured after a devastating fire swept through a commercial building in Lucknow’s Aliganj on Monday afternoon, in one of the city’s worst fire tragedies in recent years. At least six pets also died in the blaze.The fire broke out around 2.30 pm in a building on Usha Mehta Marg near Purania crossing. The basement, ground and first floors housed a pet shop and veterinary clinic, while the second floor accommodated Learning Space library and Head Hopper Studio, a gaming and animation firm offering skill-development training to students.Fire officials suspect the blaze originated from a short circuit in an air-conditioner inside the pet shop. It spread rapidly due to highly combustible material, trapping several students and employees inside.The first alert was raised by a sanitation worker, Marzena, who noticed smoke and heard cries for help. Local residents informed police and fire services.Eyewitnesses described panic as people tried to escape the smoke-filled building. Some smashed windowpanes and climbed out, while others jumped from the second floor. A group of students was seen breaking glass windows minutes before flames engulfed the structure.Residents said fire tenders reached within minutes, but the blaze intensified quickly, engulfing the building within about 20 minutes. Thick smoke was visible from nearly 2 km away.Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak was one of the first to rush to the scene and monitored rescue efforts. Senior officials, including Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna, ACS (Home) Sanjay Prasad and Director General, Fire Services, Sujeet Pandey, also supervised rescue and relief operations.More than 15 fire tenders, along with teams from the NDRF and SDRF, were deployed. Firefighters battled the blaze for over an hour before bringing it under control.Rescue teams pulled out 22 victims, who were rushed to KGMU’s Trauma Centre. Doctors confirmed 15 were brought dead.The deceased were identified as Sagar, Nilesh, Anamika, Saim, Anucha, Somalya, Sukhmani, Jyoti, Bhavishya, Suraj, Aditya Srivastava, Shahjaan, Mohd Amaar, Jaineel Chakraborty and Abdul Rehman. Details of their backgrounds were being verified.“A total of 22 victims were brought to the trauma centre. Fifteen were declared dead on arrival. Four were discharged after treatment, while three remain critical,” said Dr Prem Raj Singh, chief medical superintendent, KGMU.Police said most of the victims were students and trainees aged 22–27 who were present at the gaming studio. Around 35 people were inside when the fire broke out.“Some escaped, some jumped, while others were trapped. A few locked themselves inside washrooms in an attempt to escape the flames,” a senior officer said.The fire also killed more than six pets, including dogs and cats, housed in the pet shop-cum-clinic.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief and announced ₹2 lakh ex gratia for the kin of each deceased.Chief minister Yogi Adityanath cut short his Aligarh visit and returned to Lucknow. He also cancelled his Tuesday visits to Hathras and Agra. He later visited KGMU and announced ₹5 lakh compensation for families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the critically injured.“The grief of families who lost their loved ones in this heart-wrenching tragedy cannot be expressed in words. The UP govt stands firmly with all the affected families with full sensitivity and commitment,” he said.Authorities have ordered an inquiry. While preliminary findings point to an electrical short circuit, forensic teams are examining the exact cause.Auto-lock system may have hampered escapeLucknow: Investigators are examining whether an automatic access-control system delayed evacuation. Yash, an employee who escaped, claimed the studio’s main entrance operated on a biometric (thumb-impression) system. “When the fire spread, the gate remained locked. Valuable time was lost trying to open it,” he alleged. Officials have not confirmed this claim but said it is being examined as part of the probe.Bylaw violations, lack of exits under scannerOfficials have launched a probe into possible violations of building and fire safety norms. The structure, built on land owned by Virendra Shukla, was allegedly sanctioned as a single-storey building but extended to three floors. It reportedly had only one entry and exit point and lacked a fire department NOC. Preliminary findings suggest the absence of a dedicated emergency exit may have hampered evacuation, trapping occupants inside. Authorities will examine approvals, fire compliance, occupancy permissions and emergency preparedness to determine whether negligence contributed to the high toll.
