UP: Couple, 3 minor daughters killed in Kanpur building blaze
Kanpur, May 5 (PTI): A couple and their three minor daughters died in a blaze that broke out in a five-storey building in Chamanganj area here, police said on Monday.
Huge flames engulfed the entire building in the Prem Nagar area that houses shoe manufacturing units on its first and second floors, they said.
The bodies of Mohammad Danish 45, his wife Nazneen Saba, 42, were retrieved from the fourth floor at around 1 am, while those of their daughters -- Sara, 15, Simra, 12, and Inaya, 7, -- were found on the same floor at around 6 am, said Additional DCP (Central) Rajesh Srivastava.
It took firefighters several hours to gain access to the fourth floor, officials said, adding the victims were taken to the Ursula Horseman Memorial Hospital, where the doctors declared them brought dead.
According to police, the neighbours noticed huge flames and thick smoke emanating from the building on Sunday night and alerted the fire department and police.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Seesmau) Manjay Singh said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire.
Preliminary probe suggests that the fire started in the basement and engulfed the first and second floors before being noticed by the neighbours, the ACP added.
"Initial suspicions point towards a possible short circuit or faults in the internal wiring, potentially originating from the floors where the shoe factory was operating," the ACP said.
"The fire led to blasts in a couple of domestic LPG cylinders that worsened the situation," he added.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were also called to help the firefighters in the relief operations to extinguish the blaze completely, said ACP (Colonelganj) TB Singh.
"People from over half a dozen neighbouring buildings were evacuated to ensure their safety,” he added.
The officials have been instructed to investigate the building's legality and fire safety status and take action accordingly, a senior official said.
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India describes attack on Fujairah 'unacceptable'
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday described the wounding of three Indians in an attack on the United Arab Emirates' port city of Fujairah as "unacceptable" and pressed for an immediate cessation of hostilities targeting innocent civilians.
New Delhi's reaction came a day after the Indians were injured after a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil industry zone in Fujairah. The UAE had accused Iran of carrying out the strike.
"The attack on Fujairah that resulted in injury to three Indian nationals is unacceptable," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians," the spokesperson said.
Jaiswal said India continued to stand for dialogue and diplomacy to deal with the situation so that peace and stability could be restored across West Asia.
"We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. India stands ready to support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of issues," he said.
The attack on Fujairah city came as the ceasefire between the US and Iran came under strain in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas pass, remains a major sticking point in the talks. Shipping through the narrow Gulf waterway has been severely disrupted by the conflict, triggering a sharp increase in oil prices and energy shortages in several countries.
The UAE's defence ministry on Monday said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.
The ministry affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country."
