Lucknow, Two children were killed in a massive fire that gutted a slum cluster in the Vikas Nagar area here, police said on Thursday, as rescue teams and residents trawled through the site reduced to ashes from the blaze the evening before.
The bodies of the two children were recovered late Wednesday, hours after the devastating fire broke out, Deputy Commissioner of Police Deeksha Sharma said.
“The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem. Their parents have been informed,” she told reporters.
The two victims were sisters – Shruti and her two-month-old sister, officials said.
Police said the parents of the deceased children are from Kashipurwa village in Barabanki district.
The fire, which started Wednesday evening in a slum cluster near the Ring Road in Vikas Nagar, rapidly engulfed over 200 shanties and reduced residents’ belongings to ashes. Hundreds of people, mostly domestic workers and daily wage earners, were left homeless.
After receiving information about the blaze, fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot, and rescue and relief measures were initiated without delay, Sharma said.
District Magistrate Vishakh G said on Thursday that the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained as a fire safety audit was underway.
He said a preliminary assessment by the revenue team is being carried out to provide financial assistance to the victims, which would be determined after evaluating the losses.
Vishakh told PTI that the deceased’s family would be provided ₹8 lakh as compensation.
Officials said more than 30 LPG cylinders exploded in the fire, intensifying the flames, while smoke from the blaze was visible from up to 10 km away.
As a precautionary measure, around 20 nearby houses were evacuated.
Firefighting operations, involving nearly 20 fire tenders, continued for about five hours before the blaze was brought under control, with electricity supply in the area temporarily cut off.
Teams from the police, fire department, SDRF and NDRF have been deployed at the site since Wednesday evening, Sharma said, adding that the rescue effort went on till late into the night.
By Thursday morning, the area presented a grim picture, with only ashes and charred household items such as cupboards and refrigerators visible.
The displaced residents were seen sifting through the debris in search of salvageable belongings. Some families were shifted overnight to temporary shelters, while others spent the night in the open on vacant plots nearby.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav expressed their concerns over the incident and called for immediate relief and a thorough investigation.
Local volunteers and social workers have been providing food to the displaced people.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
