25 students trapped at Kanpur coaching institute rescued by fire officials

The students rescued by Kanpur fire officials said they panicked after finding that the second exit from the building. They were later evacuated by fire officials from the windows using a ladder

Kanpur: A fire broke out in a commercial building in Kanpur’s Barra area on Thursday, trapping about 25 students at a coaching institute located on the building’s first floor.

Police said the only other exit from the building, apart from the main entrance which was blocked due to the fire, was locked. (Videograb)

The students were safely rescued by fire department personnel, said deputy commissioner of police (South) Pramod Kumar.

Police said the building didn’t have an operational emergency exit and the fire department has been asked to check if the complex was ever issued a fire clearance.

Students said the fire started on the ground floor, not from the stairs from the floors above. This prevented the students at the Global Career Academy from escaping.

A student, Priyanka Chaturvedi, said the students were in the class when they noticed the smoke filling up the room.

“We all started running covering our faces. We went down to move out of the building from the rear entrance but the iron door was locked. We tried to break it open but could not,” said a second student, recalling how they panicked.

Kumar said the fire department officials also were not able to enter the building. Finally, the 25 students were rescued through the windows.

A local said the black smoke was so dense that no one could see anything in the building. He said people in the neighbourhood helped check the spread of the fire before the three fire tenders arrived. “Or else there could have been a major tragedy,” he said.