Lucknow Fire Survivor: Biometric Doors Locked Due to Power Failure; Escaped Using Electric Wire

Lucknow (IANS): Horrifying first-hand accounts have emerged from the survivors of the devastating Aliganj commercial complex fire that killed 18 youths. Survivors and eyewitnesses point to a lethal combination of flawed safety tech, locked exit routes, and delayed emergency response that turned the three-storey building into a death trap.

Mohammad Asif, who narrowly escaped the blaze on the building’s second floor, revealed that a power failure caused by the fire locked the electronic biometric doors, trapping dozens of students inside.

Trapped by Technology: Biometric Doors Failed to Open

Asif recalled the exact moment the panic began just after lunch. As smoke began filling the floor, students rushed toward the main exit, only to find themselves trapped by the building’s security system.

• The Tech Trap: “We tried to exit and were punching our attendance on the biometric machine. But because the electricity went out, the fingerprint system failed, and the door remained firmly locked,” Asif said.
• The Escape Route: After breaking into an adjacent room, Asif and a small group found a window. “We saw an electricity wire passing beside a small window. Four to five others and I managed to climb down to the ground using that wire.”

A Fatal Choice: According to Asif, those who couldn’t reach the window fled to the washrooms to escape the suffocating smoke. Tragically, they could not escape and succumbed to asphyxiation.

“Terrace Was Locked, Fire Brigade Took an Hour to Arrive”

The tragedy was further compounded by structural locks and delayed rescue efforts, according to survivors and local eyewitnesses.

Key Eyewitness Revelations:

• Shutter-Locked Terrace: Eyewitness Mala Nigam revealed that panicked children rushed to the roof, but the terrace door was completely shutter-locked. “The children were stuck… they were calling their parents in sheer panic,” she stated.
• Delayed Response: Asif noted that despite the scale of the disaster, “The fire brigade arrived after more than an hour. I don’t know how many could have been saved if they arrived earlier.”
• Faulty Safety Systems: While the building was equipped with fire extinguishers, Asif confirmed that the central fire alarm completely failed to trigger.
• Desperate Jumps: Another survivor, Jayant Gupta, shattered a glass window and leaped to save his life, fracturing his hip on an iron railing below. He reportedly lay on the road for thirty minutes before an ambulance arrived.

Ground Floor Pet Shop Devastated

The building also housed a pet shop on the ground floor. As the fire rapidly spread, locals and shop staff frantically pulled out cages and threw animals into the street to save them. Within minutes, however, the intense heat—which survivors said could be felt from 100 meters away—made further rescue missions impossible.