Five, including three children, killed in fire at six-storey building in Kanpur's Chaman Ganj

Kanpur:

A devastating fire in a five-storey building in the Chamanganj area of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, claimed the lives of a 45-year-old man and his wife, police said on Monday. Due to the severity of the blaze, authorities also fear that the couple's three daughters may have perished in the incident.

Huge flames engulfed the entire building located in the Prem Nagar area. The five-storey structure houses a shoe manufacturing factory on its first and second floors, they said.

The bodies of Mohammad Danish and his wife Nazneen Saba (42) were recovered from the fourth floor of the building, officials said. The couple's three daughters -- Sara (15), Simra (12), and Inaya (7) -- are also feared dead.

Fire led to blasts in a couple of domestic LPG cylinders

They said that it took firefighters hours to gain access to the fourth floor, where the couple's bodies were discovered. According to police, neighbours first noticed huge flames and thick smoke emanating from the building on Sunday night and alerted fire station and police.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Seesmau) Manjay Singh said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire.

"While the exact reason remains unclear, initial suspicions point towards a possible short circuit or faults in the internal wiring, potentially originating from the floors where the shoe factory was operating," the ACP said.

"The fire led to blasts in a couple of domestic LPG cylinders that worsened the situation," he added.

Efforts to completely extinguish the blaze are underway, the officials said, adding that people from over half a dozen buildings nearby have been evacuated to insure their safety.

(With PTI inputs)