The building housed a pet shop and veterinary clinic on the lower floors and a study centre and an animation studio on upper floors – the cause of the fire was not immediately known
A fire tore has torn through a commercial building in India, killing at least 14 people.
The fire broke out on Monday, June 23 at the building in the northern Indian city of Lucknow. Most of the people killed were students.
The cause of the blaze, which ripped through the building that housed a pet shop and veterinary clinic on the lower floors and a study centre and an animation studio above, was not immediately known.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said 14 bodies had been recovered at the site.
At least 10 people were rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment, officials said. Videos posted to social media showed people climbing out of broken windows.
One video appeared to show a man falling from an upper floor while trying to escape. Local media said he survived and was hospitalized.
Officials said firefighters forced their way into the building by breaking through a rear wall after dense smoke hampered rescue efforts.
They said exhaust fans were brought in to clear the smoke while emergency crews searched rooms and restrooms for survivors.
In April, guests at the Rituraj Hotel in central Kolkata were seen scrambling to evacuate the building, with some trying to escape through the windows and narrow ledges after a fire broke out at a hotel.
At least 14 tourists died following the fire at the hotel in eastern India. But fires are common in India, where builders and residents often flout building laws and safety codes.
Activists say builders often cut corners on safety to save costs and have accused civic authorities of negligence and apathy.
In 2022, at least 27 people were killed when a massive fire tore though a four-story commercial building in the capital New Delhi.
