Confusion reigned as large crowds milled around the stalls in Meerut, which is well-known as the site of the outbreak of the 1857 mutiny against British rule.
MEERUT: At least 50 people, mostly women and children, were charred to death and more than 100 injured, some of them seriously, in a devastating fire that ravaged a consumer goods fair here on Monday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Rajeev Sabarwal said 50 people died and 115 sustained burn injuries. While 55 were undergoing treatment inb various hospitals, 70 others were discharged after first aid.
R N Srivastava, Special Secretary (Home) of Uttar Pradesh, said most of the dead were women and children. One woman Suman Garg, who suffered 100 per cent burn injuries, succumbed at Lala Lajpat Rai Medical College, the college Principal Usha Sharma said.
The fire, apparently triggered by a short circuit, broke out at one of the pandals around 5.30pm when an estimated 2,000 people were at the "Brand India" fair at Victoria Park where products of leading multinational companies dealing in electronic goods and kitchen appliances were on display.
The blaze soon engulfed and virtually the entire air-conditioned makeshift complex turned into an inferno. Bodies charred beyond recognition lay scattered as firefighters with the help of locals and police battled for 90 minutes to contain leaping flames.
Plumes of black smoke engulfed the area and visitors scrambled to flee the spot. Blackened steel frames were all that remained of the makeshift tents that had been set up as stalls at the fair which began three days ago and was to end on Monday.
The fire fury aggravated when cooking gas cylinders used by makeshift eateries at the fair venue exploded, officials said.
Earlier, Inspector General of Police Narendra Bahadur Singh, who was on the spot supervising rescue operations, had said 45 to 50 people have died in the fire.
Thirty one bodies were in mortuaries, District Magistrate Ramkishan said.
With bodies badly mutilated, anxious relatives and friends were desperately searching for their near and dear ones at the tragedy site as well as in hospitals.
Rescue workers were sifting through the debris at the site looking for possible for bodies trapped.
Uttar Pradesh governemnt ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs. two lakh to the next of the kins of the deceased, Rs. 50,000 to those seriously injured and Rs. 25,000 to those with minor injuries.
Principal Secretary (Home) S K Agarwal said it appeared that safety norms were not properly adhered to at the fair leading to the fire.
DIG R K Vishakarma said proper electrical safety measures were not taken at the pandals, which were centrally air-conditioned, and did not rule out filing of cases against erring officials.
The army was called to assist the civil administration in dealing with the situation.
Twenty five fire tenders, including some from nearby districts, were pressed into service to douse the flames.
Rapid Action Force and police force from neighbouring districts were requisitioned to deal with the blaze.
Eyewitnesses feared more than 50 people could have perished in the fire. People were seen helping the authorities and police rushing the injured to nearby hospitals in cars and other vehicles.
They said civilians played a stellar role in rushing the injured to the hospital and in efforts to douse the flames, much before the authorities could step in with assistance.
Vishwakarma said 27 injured persons, who suffered more than 50 percent burns, were taken to hospitals in Delhi as desired by their relatives.
Narender Kumar Ahuja, who had put up an electronic goods stall at the fair and suffered injuries, said fire may have been caused by a cooking gas cylinder at an eaterie because had short circuit been the cause, power supply would have snapped when fire raged.
BSP Chief Mayawati visited Victoria park and accused the Mulayam Singh Yadav government of "concealing the real number of deaths".
"The sheer size of the pandal indicates the gravity of the fire. Government is suppressing the number of casualties in the fire," Mayawati said.
UPCC president Salman Khurshid also visited the site and said that Centre would cooperate in every possile way to help the victims of the fire.
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