A fire broke out at a building in Noida’s Sector 66 on Wednesday afternoon, prompting a massive rescue operation, police said.
According to DCP Central Noida, the fire broke out in an electric scooter (EV) that was plugged in for charging and spread to several other vehicles parked nearby.
Two individuals were injured in the incident and were sent to the hospital by ambulance for treatment.
However, reports suggested they succumbed to injuries during treatment.
According to eyewitness, an electric scooter was charging downstairs when a short circuit occurred, causing the entire place to catch fire.
“We were upstairs and had to flee as the police had not arrived yet, and there was no other way out. Since the building was under construction, staircases were available; they positioned a ladder from above, allowing about 150 to 200 of us to climb across and escape down that way…,” the eyewitness said.
“The fire was concentrated on the ground floor, where two people—likely a couple—burned to death. I have been living here since 2021,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a fire broke out at Kingdom of Dreams in Gurugram Sector 29.
Several fire tenders were rushed to the spot and firefighting operations were underway.
The cause of the fire was being ascertained and there were no immediate reports of any casualties.
“Our office is located right behind this building, less than half a kilometre away, which is how we noticed the smoke rising. There was a massive column of smoke originating from the thermocol installed at the front of the structure. I immediately dispatched five or six of our vehicles all at once. We do not know the cause of the fire yet, as the facility has been shut down for quite some time. A fire had broken out here once before, which also occurred during the night…No, there were no casualties. The place was empty and closed down; it is entirely reduced to a heap of scrap,” Fire Officer Naresh Kumar said.
Earlier last month, at least 21 people, including foreign nationals, were killed in a tragic fire at a hotel in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar.
The incident raised serious concerns over the fire safety norms and prompted the government to order a safety audit of commercial buildings across the city.