Family of five killed after massive fire in a building in Kanpur
Officials said that it took hours for the firefighters to gain access to the fourth floor where the bodies of the couple were found.
Five members of a family, including three minor daughters, died after a massive fire broke out in a five-storey residential-cum-commercial building in the Chamanganj area of Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur late on Sunday night.
The blaze began around 10pm in the basement of the building located in the Gandhi Nagar locality and spread rapidly through the structure.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire reached the top floor within 15 minutes.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (West) Rajesh Srivastava confirmed the deaths and said over 20 people were rescued in a firefighting operation that lasted nearly seven hours.
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Despite repeated attempts, fire personnel were unable to reach the family on the top floor due to thick smoke and the high intensity of the fire. Their bodies were recovered early Monday morning.
“After the fire was brought under control this morning, firefighters found the youngest daughter clinging to her mother’s body,” an official said.
Officials said 30 fire tenders were deployed, and a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team arrived from Lucknow around 2am. Rescue operations were hindered by the narrow lanes and dense construction in the area. A 500-metre radius around the building was cordoned off and all nearby structures were evacuated.
The building was occupied by the families of three brothers. The deceased person’s brothers and their families lived on the third and fourth floors. Firefighters managed to rescue four people from the third floor and three from the fourth using ladders. However, they were unable to reach the top floor where the victim’s family lived.
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Initial investigations suggest that the fire may have been triggered by an electrical short-circuit in a shoe unit operating on the ground floor. The fire quickly engulfed the structure, creating a thick cloud of smoke.
Local residents alerted emergency services and assisted in evacuations before firefighters arrived. A nearby godown also caught fire during the incident.
The deceased person's father, said he had called his son when the fire broke out.
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“He answered the phone, but the call dropped soon after. I couldn’t reach him again,” he said.
Locals added that the deceased person was on the ground floor when the fire began and rushed upstairs in an attempt to rescue his family.
Authorities are continuing to assess the damage and an investigation into the exact cause of the fire is underway.
