Six people, including five children and a woman, died after a fire broke out in a house in Kidwai Nagar under Lisadi Gate police station area in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut. Among the deceased were two twin infants less than six months old.
The fire reportedly started late Monday evening at Iqbal’s house. Hearing the screams and seeing the intensity of the flames, local residents rushed to help. However, the fire spread from the lower floor to the upper floor of the house, trapping the family members inside.
Narrow lanes hampered rescue operation
Due to the narrow lanes, the injured were rescued through the roof and taken to the hospital, where they later succumbed to their injuries during treatment. The house where the fire broke out was used for cloth work. The fire is believed to have been caused by a short circuit, leading to chaos in the area.
Fire brigade teams brought the blaze under control. SP City Ayush Vikram Singh and fire brigade officials admitted the injured to the hospital, but they could not be saved.
Top officials meet victims’ family
Upon receiving information about the incident, DM VK Singh, SSP Avinash Pandey, and MLAs Rafiq Ansari and Ghulam Mohammad reached the hospital. They spoke to the bereaved family members, who have refused to allow postmortem examinations.
"We received information that fire broke out in a house in the Lisari Gate area... The six people rescued, one woman and five children, have died. One woman is being treated. We are being told that the fire started due to an electrical appliance," SSP Pandey said.
Further probe into the incident is underway.
(Reported by Hima Aggarwal)
