Lucknow, June 23 (IANS) Mohammad Asif, among the lucky ones who escaped the massive fire that swept through a commercial building in Lucknow’s Aliganj area, claiming 18 lives, said that the entry to the studios on the establishment’s second floor got locked because of its biometric system and that he climbed down using an electric wire.

Talking to IANS, Asif recalled the horrific sequence of events. “We were sitting after lunch and were about to start work again when some staff came and said there was a short circuit kind of a thing and a fire had broken out.”

“We slowly started moving out. When we were trying to exit, we were punching attendance on the biometric machine, but there was no electricity, and the fingerprint system was not working. The door was also not opening. Somehow, we went into another room and came out through a door. By then, smoke had filled the staircase. We ran back, covered our faces with towels and tried to escape. When we went near the window, more smoke was coming in.”

“We saw an electricity wire passing beside a small window. We tried to climb down using the wire. Me and four to five others could come down using that.”

He said that others closed themselves in a washroom while attempting to prevent themselves from being suffocated. “They could not escape,” he added.

“One of our associates, Jayant Gupta, broke the glass window and tried jumping from there, but he fell on an iron railing, fracturing his hip. He was lying on the road for around half an hour after which an ambulance arrived,” Asif said.

“The fire brigade arrived after more than an hour. I don’t know how many could be saved by them,” he said.

He recalled that the fire was so intense that they could feel their skin burn even from 100 metres away.

While maintaining that the building had fire equipment, Asif said that the fire alarm did not work.

“We received help almost an hour later. People outside were shouting, telling us to come out and that the fire had spread throughout the premises. We didn’t realise (the extent of the fire) as inside it was just filled with smoke,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mala Nigam, who witnessed the tragedy, also said that the flames were so strong that it was not possible for anyone to enter the building to save lives.

“On the ground floor, there was a pet shop with animals like dogs, cats, and other pets. People there quickly tried to save some animals by pulling out cages and throwing a few out. Only a few people were able to come down from upstairs; two or three children jumped and got injured. After that, the fire became so strong that it was not possible to save anyone,” she told IANS.

She added that the firefighters might have been able to rescue more children if they were able to reach the terrace.

“The terrace door was shutter-locked. The children were stuck and remained locked inside. I cannot describe the scene…the children were calling up their parents in panic, some even locked themselves in the washrooms while attempting to save themselves,” she said.

—IANS

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