‘No way in’: Rescue teams broke wall to enter burning Lucknow building

3 min readLucknowUpdated: Jun 22, 2026 08:57 PM IST

A fire official conducts rescue operation after fire broke out at a commercial building in Aliganj, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Monday, June 22, 2026. (PTI Photo)

Even as a fire tore through a three-storey commercial building in Lucknow’s Aliganj area on Monday afternoon, killing 14 people, firefighting operations were hampered by difficult access. Firemen and State Disaster Response Force personnel then got to the terrace of the adjoining residential house, where two big holes were made by the SDRF personnel into the side wall of the commercial building to enter inside.

Visuals from the spot showed firefighters breaking a hole into a brick wall and pushing a water hose through it to douse the blaze. Another visual showed firefighters carrying what appeared to be a body on a stretcher.

A few victims had shut themselves inside the washroom to escape the flames and smoke, but they all found dead, said officials.

This before-and-after photo combination displays the severe extent of the structural damage. The top image, sourced from Google Maps Street View, shows the building as it stood in November 2025, displaying the various commercial establishments operating on its premises. The bottom image, a PTI photo, captures the immediate aftermath of Monday’s incident, showing the heavily charred exterior of the structure as emergency personnel and firefighters work through the wreckage to douse the flames and secure the site.. (PTI)

Police said the owner of the building was identified as Virendra Shukla. His son, Akhilesh Shukla, was running the graphics animation centre. Both did not come to the spot and were not found at home, a police official said.

Acknowledging the challenges, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told the media: “There was no space to enter, rescue teams had to break a wall to enter.”

“This is a very sad incident, around a dozen children died, a high-level inquiry has been ordered… The government stands with the victim families. This is a very sad incident. Thirteen children have been rescued. There is smoke inside, all the rooms are being checked. Fire department officials, NDRF team are inside,” Pathak said.

Acknowledging the challenges, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told the media: “There was no space to enter, rescue teams had to break a wall to enter.”

The building housed a pet clinic and shop on the basement, ground and first floors. A graphics animation centre and a library were on the second floor. On either side of the building were a residential premises and a store called Empress Computers which makes custom-made gaming PCs.

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This fire incident in Lucknow comes within weeks of a massive blaze in Delhi. Twenty-three people, including foreign nationals, were killed in the fire that destroyed a ground-plus-five-storey building operating as a bed and breakfast (B&B) establishment in Malviya Nagar in South Delhi.

Police had said the foreign nationals belonged to Liberia, Nigeria, and Mozambique in Africa, and Bangladesh. Most of them were medical tourists who had come to India for treatment, or were accompanying patients.

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