15 Killed In Fire At Commercial Building In India's Lucknow City

By Shakir Husain

HYDERABAD, June 22 (Bernama) --  At least 15 people, mostly young students, were reported killed and many others injured in a fire at a commercial building in India's Lucknow city on Monday.

The fire ripped through the three-storey building housing an animation training centre and other stores in the Aliganj area of Uttar Pradesh state's capital.

Some children jumped from the smoke-filled building as bystanders frantically tried to call the police and fire service, according to social media videos and eyewitnesses.

“The loss of lives in the fire accident in Lucknow is extremely tragic and heart-rending. My condolences are with the bereaved families,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said at a rally in another city.

More than 20 victims were taken to the trauma centre of King George's Medical University (KGMU), local media reported.

Five injured victims were admitted for treatment, while 15 others were pronounced dead on arrival.

The Uttar Pradesh tragedy follows a major hotel fire earlier this month in Delhi that killed at least 22 people, many of them foreign medical tourists.

-- BERNAMA