Two dead as fire engulfs multi-storey building in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad; nine rescued

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Two women were killed while nine others were rescued after a fire engulfed a multi-storey building in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad in the wee hours on Monday. The deceased included a senior citizen, reports said.

All the 11 people, who were trapped in the fire, belonged to the same family.

One of the deceased was 74-years-old and it is suspected that she died of asphyxiation, while the other, aged around 40, succumbed to burn injuries, a police officer, who oversaw the rescue and relief work, told PTI.

"Both the women were members of the same family. They were taken to a CHC (community health centre), but did not survive. Their postmortem reports are awaited," Assistant Commissioner of Police, Loni, Rajneesh Upadhiyai said.

The building belongs to a person named Satish Pal and the deceased were identified as his mother Bharto Devi and his sister Mamta, who had come to stay with them, the officer said.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Rahul Pal said the firefighters were alerted about the incident in Lal Bagh colony of Ghaziabad district's Loni area at 6:52 am, adding that the building housed a tent and catering service on its ground floor.

The two women were found on the first and the second floors of the building, and were taken to the health facility, while nine others were rescued, he said.

Teams were rushed to the site and two water tenders from Tronica City and one from Sahibabad were sent, Pal said. "There was a major fire in the building's ground floor where work related to the tent house business was done," he said.

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"Eight people were trapped in the upper part of the building. They were rescued by breaking a wall after the firefighters reached them using an external stair. When the building was further checked, a woman was found injured on the first floor and another on the second floor," Pal said.

On the cause of the fire, he said it seems it broke out after a short circuit in the building's ground floor. There was no one present in the ground floor during the time of the incident, he added.

Pal said a firefighter was injured in the rescue operation when an iron gate fell on him. The fire has been doused, the official said.

According to police, among those rescued, six were aged below 30 (no children) and the remaining above 30. There were four women among those rescued by firefighters.

"The family members were asleep when the fire broke out. Some locals noticed it in the morning, they intervened and tried to help douse the growing blaze but to no avail. Eventually they alerted the local police station," ACP Upadhiyai said.

"Full force along with firefighters was at the spot before 7 am, and any further delay could have caused a worse tragedy," the officer added.

He said the police are in the process of receiving a complaint from the building's owner over the "accidental fire" and further legal proceedings were being carried out. (With inputs from PTI)