Woman Dies, Several Children Rescued After Massive Fire Breaks Out in Naini House Due to Short Circuit
Prayagraj: A devastating fire triggered by a suspected short circuit engulfed a two-storey house in the Mitra Bhandar lane area of Prayagraj’s Naini locality on Tuesday night, leaving one woman dead and several family members trapped inside amid thick smoke and flames.
The blaze spread rapidly through the building, trapping the families of three brothers inside the house.
The terrified screams of seven children and three women echoed through the narrow lane, sending shockwaves across the neighbourhood.
Residents rushed to help despite the danger, while firefighters carried out a difficult rescue operation that continued for hours.
Although everyone was eventually brought out safely, one woman later died due to suffocation caused by smoke inhalation.
According to reports, the house belongs to crockery businessman Ramlal Kesarwani, who owns a shop in Naini market.
His two-storey residence is located around 200 metres away from the shop in a congested lane.
The ground floor of the building was being used as a storage facility, while the upper floors housed the families of his three sons.
The fire reportedly broke out around 9 pm due to an electrical short circuit. Within moments, flames spread across the building, filling the structure with dense smoke.
At the time of the incident, Ramlal Kesarwani and his sons, Sanjeev and Raju, were at their shop.
Inside the house were Sanjeev’s wife Archana (32), Raju’s wife Ruchi (30), and Sarita (36), the wife of deceased son Ravinder, along with several children aged between eight and ten years, identified as Love, Gauri, Om, Prayanshi, Shivanya, Raghav, and Param.
As panic gripped the family, eyewitnesses said the situation became so desperate that Sarita jumped from the first floor in an attempt to save her life.
After escaping, she screamed for help as neighbours gathered outside the burning building.
The cries of women and children created chaos throughout the locality. Soon, teams from the Uttar Pradesh Police and the fire department arrived at the scene with seven fire tenders.
However, rescue efforts became extremely challenging because the lane was too narrow for fire engines to enter.
Firefighters had to lay long pipelines through the alley to control the flames.
With the assistance of residents, rescue teams managed to evacuate everyone trapped inside the house.
Archana, who had fallen unconscious due to heavy smoke inhalation, was rushed to SRN Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
As a precautionary measure, nearby houses belonging to residents identified as Bablu, Vipin, Mahajan, Ashok Gupta, and Sandeep were also evacuated to prevent further casualties.
The fire caused panic across the area late into the night. Officials said the presence of plastic materials stored in the ground-floor warehouse intensified the blaze, making it difficult for firefighters to fully bring the situation under control for several hours.
