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Tribune News Service
Lucknow, June 19
A major fire broke out at two hotels in the busy area of the city early on Tuesday morning, killing at least six people and critically injuring half a dozen.
The fire broke out at a hotel in the Charbagh area near the railway station here at around 5 am and spread to an adjacent hotel.
Expressing grief at the loss of lives, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced ex gratia of Rs2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs50,000 for the injured.
The Lucknow Zone ADG would conduct an inquiry into the fire that reportedly started due to short-circuit in an air conditioner in the basement of SSJ International and spread to Virat International.
The injured guests were admitted to the Trauma Centre of the King George Medical University Hospital and Civil Hospital. At least a dozen fire tenders pressed into service had taken six hours to control the flames.
Cabinet Minister for Tourism Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who visited the accident site, said both the hotels were full due to various competitive examinations. “Over 55 persons trapped inside the hotels were successfully rescued,” she said. Guests who managed to escape said they woke up from sleep due to suffocation and when they opened the door all they could see was smoke in the corridors. Many climbed down from their balcony.
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