Lucknow: Four people, including two women, died and at least 10 were injured after a fire broke out in a four-storey hotel in the city’s commercial centre Hazratganj Monday morning, police said.
For several hours, rescue teams inspected the premises of the Levana Suites on Madan Mohan Malviya Marg in Hazratganj to check if someone had been trapped, officials said, adding it took more than six hours to douse the blaze.
Initially, 10 people were rushed to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee civil hospital. Of these, two were declared dead and seven are undergoing treatment. One of the injured was released, they said, adding that two more people were later rushed to the hospital, and were declared dead.
“Two more people who were found in a serious condition during room to room search of the hotel were rushed to the civil hospital. They were declared brought dead by doctors,” Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Piyush Mordia told PTI.
“The deceased have been identified as Gurnoor Singh Anand (28), a resident of Naka Hindola (Lucknow), Sahiba Kaur alias Jaspreet (26), a resident of Ganeshganj (Lucknow), Shravika Singh (30), a resident of Indiranagar (Lucknow) and Aman Ghazi alias Bobby (35), a resident of Khurramnagar (Lucknow),” the Lucknow district administration said in a statement here.
Ujjawal, who was staying on the second floor of the hotel, said fire broke out at around 7 am and he saw smoke in his room.
“When I came out, I along with others tried to go out, but thick smoke engulfed the entire floor. I could not see anything due to the smoke. Then we reached the third floor and broke a window to come out and were rescued,” he said.
Another guest on the same floor said there were no fire fighting arrangements in the hotel due to which they got trapped.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the injured in the hospital and enquired about their health. He also ordered a joint probe by the commissioner, Lucknow division, and police commissioner of Lucknow into the incident.
He directed officials to provide free and appropriate treatment to the injured.
Police Commissioner of Lucknow S B Shiradkar said the forensic audit of the hotel building will be done.
The fire, which led to panic in the area, engulfed the entire hotel within minutes, eyewitnesses said.
Crowds gathered as evacuation efforts got underway. Fire teams had a tough time dousing the flames after breaking glass panes.
The rescue teams also used bulldozers to break a wall on the first floor to help in the fire fighting. Both NDRF and SDRF teams were also pressed for the rescue operation, the officials said.
“The hotel owner said there are 30 rooms in the building and 18 were occupied at the time of the incident. There were 35-40 people in the hotel,” District Magistrate Suryapal Gangwar told reporters.
He said the fire could have been caused by a short circuit and the exact cause is being ascertained. “The hotel owner told us that there is a banquet on the first floor where something happened,” Gangwar said.
The hotel also has a rooftop bar, visitors said.
The injured included fireman Chandresh Yadav, who sustained burn injuries while rescuing people.
Shyam, a caretaker of a nearby building, said he was the first to see the smoke emanating out of the hotel and informed the fire brigade team.
“I myself broke several window panes and reached up with the help of iron angels and saved a few people with the help of others,” he said.
Lucknow MP and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took cognisance of the incident.
“I came to know about the tragic incident of a fire in a hotel in Lucknow. I have enquired about the situation from the local administration. Relief and rescue operations are on. My office is in constant touch with the local administration. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of those injured in the incident,” Singh said in a tweet.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said strict action will be taken against the guilty. “We will also see that there is no recurrence of such incidents. And for this, directives will be issued for the entire state,” he said.
Pathak, who also holds the health portfolio, said an advisory will be issued for proper fire safety service arrangement in all public establishments.
