One person died of suffocation and three others sustained serious injuries after a massive fire broke out in a two-storey house, reportedly triggered by an electrical short circuit, early Wednesday morning in a lane of Ganganagar colony in Rajapur locality in Prayagraj.
At the time of the incident, members of four families living in the house were asleep in their rooms. Before anyone could react, the fire spread rapidly, filling the house with dense smoke.
Local residents rushed to the spot and, along with fire department personnel who arrived shortly after being alerted, managed to rescue the 15 family members trapped inside, said CM Sharma, chief fire officer, Prayagraj.
However, one person died of suffocation, while three others sustained serious injuries and were admitted to SRN Hospital, the officer confirmed.
The house belongs to the late Pannalal, a former municipal sanitation worker. His wife, Shakuntala Devi, and their four sons—Anand, Vijay, Ajay and Anoop—live there with their families. Around 4.30 am, a short circuit on the ground floor is believed to have sparked the blaze, which spread swiftly through the structure.
Two students passing through the narrow lane noticed the fire and raised an alarm, prompting neighbours to run out and help. As smoke engulfed the rooms, all four families were trapped inside. Locals broke a kitchen window on the ground floor and also entered the house through a neighbour’s roof, eventually pulling everyone out.
Ajay (35), his wife Vandana (33), their daughter Shreya (7), and Anoop’s four-month-old daughter Ayaan were rushed to the hospital with burn and suffocation injuries. Doctors declared Ajay dead on arrival, officials said.
The fire gutted the entire household, destroying furniture, appliances, and even two motorcycles and two scooters. The narrow lane made it difficult for fire tenders to reach the spot promptly, contributing to the scale of the loss.
