UP: Massive fire rips through three-storey banquet hall in Gorakhpur; 1 dead

Gorakhpur, Nov 16 (PTI) A massive fire erupted at the Waterways Restaurant & Banquet near the Taramandal Buddhist Museum here on Sunday, leaving one staff member dead and causing extensive property damage, officials said.

The blaze, which started around 5 am, quickly spread through the entire three-storey building, with thick smoke engulfing the area and triggering panic among locals.

Chief Fire Officer Santosh Kumar said the fire control room received an alert at 5:16 am, following which four fire tenders were dispatched.

"After three hours of intensive operations, the fire was brought under control. One body was recovered from a washroom, where the victim appears to have collapsed due to suffocation," he said.

According to officials, the deceased has been identified as Purushottam (55), a housekeeping staff from Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district. He was found unconscious in the smoke-filled washroom during a search operation and was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

The building was engulfed in flames when teams from the Ramgarhtal police station and the fire department arrived at the scene. Continuous water jets were used to douse the fire before firefighters could enter and begin search operations, they said.

Preliminary investigations indicate that a short-circuit may have triggered the blaze, the police said, adding that authorities are assessing the damage.

Superintendent of Police, City, Abhinav Tyagi said the fire has been fully extinguished and the victim's family has been informed. "An evaluation of the losses is underway," he added. PTI COR CDN ARB ARB