Massive fire at Lucknow coaching center; Several children dead, rescue in progress
Lucknow, June 22: A massive fire broke out in a coaching center located in a three-story building in Purania, located in the Aliganj police station area of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Several children died in the incident, while several others were seriously burned and hospitalized.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak expressed grief over the incident and said that the rescue operation is ongoing.
A fire broke out on monday afternoon in a shop located below a three-story building near Purania intersection in the Aliganj police station area. The coaching center was located above this shop. Seeing the smoke, locals informed the police, but by then the fire had taken a serious turn and engulfed the coaching center. Seeing the dire situation, several students present at the coaching center jumped down to save their lives, suffering serious injuries. Police from Aliganj and Madiyaon police stations and several fire brigade vehicles arrived at the scene and began extinguishing the fire. Police teams admitted the injured to the hospital. A rescue operation is underway to evacuate those trapped. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, District Magistrate Visakh, and numerous police and administrative officials have arrived at the scene.
Deputy Chief Minister Pathak said that the fire at the coaching center is extremely unfortunate. He observed that many children were rescued before his eyes. Several children have died in the incident. Due to the heavy smoke inside the coaching center, rescue teams had to break through a wall to enter. The search operation is ongoing. The fire was so severe that some students and others, fearing suffocation and burns, jumped from the upper floors of the building to save their lives. They suffered injuries.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was addressing a public meeting in Aligarh when the incident occurred. Referring to the incident from the stage of the meeting, he said, “I am saddened to say that I have just received information about a tragic fire in Lucknow. Some children were caught in the fire and died tragically. Therefore, I must return immediately. I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. I have also asked the Director General of Police and the Additional Chief Secretary, Home, to visit the site and submit a report. I am also going there myself so that we can get to the bottom of this matter, punish the culprits, and express my condolences to the families of those affected.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his deepest condolences over the incident. He announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. In a statement issued on XX, he said, “I am deeply saddened by the deaths in the fire incident in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. My condolences to the families of the victims. May the injured recover as soon as possible. Rescue operations are underway, and officials are providing all possible assistance. An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each will be given to the families of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. ₹50,000 will be given to the injured.”
