A 45-year-old man and his wife died in a massive fire that broke out at a five-storey building in the Chamanganj area of Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, police said on Monday.
Huge flames engulfed the entire building located in the Prem Nagar area. The five-storey structure houses a shoe manufacturing factory on its first and second floors, officials said.
According to police, the intensity of the blaze was so severe that the couple’s three daughters — Sara (15), Simra (12), and Inaya (7) — are also feared dead.
The bodies of Mohammad Danish and his 42-year-old wife Nazneen Saba were recovered from the fourth floor of the building. Firefighters took several hours to reach the floor and retrieve the bodies, officials added.
Neighbours reportedly noticed thick smoke and flames erupting from the building on Sunday night and promptly alerted the police and fire department.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Seesmau) Manjay Singh said an investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of the fire.
“While the exact reason remains unclear, initial suspicions point towards a possible short circuit or faults in the internal wiring, potentially originating from the floors where the shoe factory was operating,” Singh said.
He further added that the fire triggered blasts in a couple of domestic LPG cylinders, which worsened the situation.
Efforts to completely douse the blaze are still underway. Authorities have evacuated residents from over half a dozen nearby buildings to ensure their safety.