Fire at training centre in India's Lucknow kills at least 15
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NEW DELHI: At least 15 people, most of them students, were killed in a fire at an animation training centre in Lucknow city in northern India on Monday (Jun 22), authorities said.
The fire broke out in the Aliganj area of Lucknow, the capital of India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, local media reported.
The building housed a pet shop and veterinary clinic on the lower floors and a study centre and an animation studio above.
News footage showed a group of men in uniform carrying bodies as a crowd gathered nearby.
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About 21 students were present when the fire broke out, police said, adding that two were seriously injured and four were stable.
The centre trained students to create animations, the state's Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told reporters.
Videos on 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 hospitalised.
Officials said firefighters had to force 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 washrooms for survivors.
Mohammad Asin, an employee at the animation studio, said workers had just returned from lunch when they were alerted to the fire.
“At first we thought it was a small fire. By the time we tried to leave, smoke had filled the rooms and passageways," he said.
The cause of the fire was being investigated.
A fire at a hotel in Delhi on Jun 3 killed more than 20 people, including around a dozen foreign nationals, raising concerns over fire safety norms in the national capital.
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