An ordinary afternoon of classes and animation sessions in Lucknow’s Aliganj area turned into one of the city’s deadliest fire tragedies, leaving 18 persons, mostly students, dead and several others injured after a blaze tore through a commercial building housing a pet shop, its warehouse, animation training centre, library and coaching facilities.The fire broke out around 2.30 pm in Sector-D of Aliganj. Initial accounts from officials and witnesses suggested that before the blaze started, thick smoke rapidly engulfed the upper floors where students and trainees were attending classes. Within minutes, panic spread through the premises as dozens found themselves trapped. The cause of the fire is reportedly being told a blast in an air conditioner’s compressor, which happened on the second floor of the building.Many attempted desperate escapes. Some jumped from windows and terraces, while others smashed glass panes and tried climbing down using electric wires. Several people reportedly locked themselves inside washrooms and kept water running in a desperate attempt to survive. For many, however, the smoke proved fatal.Preliminary probe found that the building had approval for only a residential ground floor, but a four-storey commercial structure was operating from the premises. The building allegedly lacked no-objection certificates from the fire and electrical safety departments. Authorities also found that the premises had a sanctioned electricity load of 20 kilowatts, but was reportedly drawing 35.50 kilowatts.The property is registered in the name of Virendra Prasad Shukla, while the building plan was approved in the names of Surendra Shukla and Dhirendra Shukla. According to Lucknow’s King George Medical University Medical Superintendent Prem Raj Singh, around 22 to 23 victims were brought to the hospital. Fifteen were declared dead on arrival, while several others were admitted with injuries. Four joint owners of the building have been arrested while the government has suspended four officials for “negligence”. The human tragedy unfolded in heartbreaking scenes. Jayant Gupta, a 26-year-old animation student, survived after jumping from the building. His father recalled receiving a frantic phone call in which his son screamed, “Papa, aaj shayad na bach paun. Bhishan aag mein phans gaya hoon (stuck in a fierce fire, probably won’t survive).” Jayant survived but suffered serious injuries.Another survivor, Pankaj from Uttarakhand, broke down while recalling the death of his friend Bhavishya. The two had come to Lucknow hoping to build careers in animation. “I survived, but my friend couldn’t,” he said.As smoke filled the building, local residents joined rescue efforts even before emergency teams gained access. Lance Naik Chhaviram, who happened to be passing through the area, also stepped in to help. Firefighters, police personnel and SDRF teams eventually broke through a wall from an adjoining building and launched rescue operations. Nearly a dozen fire tenders and specialised equipment were deployed.The tragedy prompted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to cut short his visit to Aligarh, where he was attending official programmes and reviewing development projects. On receiving information about the incident, he cancelled remaining engagements and returned to Lucknow. Later, he visited the site and KGMU to meet survivors and their families. He constituted a two-member special investigation team, which would submit its report within seven days.“We cannot bring back the lives lost, but I assure you that those responsible will not be spared,” CM Yogi said, directing the Director General of Police and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to personally inspect the site and submit reports.PM Narendra Modi expressed grief and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. BSP chief Mayawati described the incident as “extremely painful”.