Fire in hotels in Lucknow's Charbagh area kills four, critically injures five; officials say short circuit may have caused blaze

A major fire broke out at a hotel in Lucknow’s Charbagh area early on Tuesday. The fire, which broke out at SSJ International Hotel, spread to several floors of the adjacent Hotel Viraat International, located near the Lucknow Railway Station. [caption id=“attachment_4539851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The facade of Hotel Viraat International in Lucknow, damaged by fire. Courtesy: Twitter/@News18[/caption] “Four people have died, while five were admitted to a hospital with severe burn injuries. As many as 55 people, including staff of both the hotels, were rescued,” Superintendent of Police (Lucknow West) Vikas Chand Tripathi said. The police fear that the toll might rise. “Around 15 fire tenders were pressed into service. The blaze has been extinguished, but there is still a lot of heat in the basement of the hotels. I visited a few burnt rooms of the hotel to gauge the situation,” he said. About the cause of the fire, Tripathi said, “It seems that there was a short circuit.” Around 60 people were staying in the hotels when the fire broke out, the police said, adding that most of the guests were evacuated safely. All the rooms have been checked thoroughly, fire department officials told NDTV. A preliminary inquiry indicates that a short circuit may have caused the fire, and although the facade of the hotel has been badly damaged, the rooms were not affected. Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath has expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the fire. “The Chief Minister has directed officials to ensure proper medical care for the injured,” a spokesperson said. With inputs from PTI