E-Paper
Young man dies in Magh Mela fire
A fire at the Magh Mela killed 25-year-old Manas Mishra, causing panic. The cause is unknown; previous incidents also occurred without fatalities.
Fire incidents at the Magh Mela continued for the third consecutive day, claiming the life of a 25-year-old man late on Thursday night and triggering panic across the Mela area.
The deceased has been identified as Manas Mishra, a resident of Jhunsi in Prayagraj. He was sleeping inside a tent with his family when a fire broke out. Mishra sustained severe burn injuries in the blaze, officials said.
The incident occurred at a camp located on Annapurna Marg in Sector 5 of the Magh Mela tent city. As thick smoke and flames engulfed the tent, chaos erupted in the surrounding area. Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and managed to douse the flames; however, the tent was completely gutted by then.
Mishra was trapped inside the tent and suffered critical burns. Mela police immediately shifted him to SRN Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment late at night.
Police have taken custody of the body and sent it for a post-mortem examination.
Confirming the incident, Neeraj Kumar Pandey, SP (Mela), said that the youth was seriously injured in the fire and died during treatment. “The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,” he said.
A fire had broken out at a Kalpavasi camp ‘Bade–Chhote Brahm Maharaj Ashram’ in Sector No. 4, destroying six tents and gutting cash and belongings worth around ₹20,000, on January 14 too but no one was injured or killed in it.
On January 13, two tents at the Shri Ram and Manas Prachar Sangh (Shri Namayan Dham) camp on Kali Road (northern stretch) in Sector No. 5 were damaged in a fire. A man was also injured in the incident.
