At least fifteen people died and several others were injured when a fire swept through a commercial building in the Aliganj neighbourhood of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday afternoon. The victims, according to medical and police sources, were predominantly in their twenties—students and staff of a gaming and animation studio operating from the upper floors.

Rescue teams from the fire department, the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force extracted 22 people from the building, the medical superintendent of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) told reporters. Fifteen were declared dead on arrival, most from asphyxiation caused by thick smoke. Five injured survivors were admitted, two of them with spinal injuries after jumping from upper windows. Eyewitness accounts and mobile phone footage showed desperate attempts to escape: several people rappelled down cables, others smashed glass, and at least one person was seen falling from a ledge before being carried away by bystanders.

Within hours of the blaze, Uttar Pradesh police arrested three individuals—the building owner, the operator of the pet clinic on the ground floor, and the manager of the animation centre—and registered a criminal case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the state fire services act. The state government suspended four officials, including an executive engineer from the electricity department, a fire safety officer, and two engineers from the Lucknow Development Authority. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who cut short an official visit to return to the capital, ordered a two-member Special Investigation Team to submit a report within seven days and announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for each deceased person’s family.

Preliminary findings, cited by investigators and local officials, indicate the building had been approved for residential use under a self-certification map system in 2014 but was later converted to commercial operations without the requisite fire safety clearances. No emergency exit was available, and witnesses alleged that no fire extinguishers were present. The exact origin of the fire remains under investigation: some officials pointed to a possible short-circuit in an air-conditioning duct, while others suggested the blaze began in the veterinary clinic on the ground floor. The building also housed a pet shop; animal welfare activists reported that several animals perished, though the precise number has not been confirmed.

The tragedy comes weeks after a fire in a Delhi hotel killed more than twenty people, intensifying public scrutiny of fire safety compliance in commercial establishments across Indian cities. Authorities in Lucknow have said the immediate priority is completing the search of the damaged structure and providing medical care to the injured, while the SIT inquiry examines building regulations, inspection records, and the sequence of events that led to the deaths.