‘Papa, please save me’: Last calls from Lucknow fire victims to families

Outside the mortuary of King George’s Medical University, parents and relatives recalled the last phone calls with their loved ones who were killed in the deadly blaze that tore through a three-storey building in Lucknow’s Aliganj, begging to be saved.

One of the victims was Sukhmani Singh (23), a game designer who had been teaching at a graphics animation centre on the second floor of the building.

His father, Prabhjot Singh, said his son called him around 2 pm, pleading for help. “Papa mujhe bacha lo (Papa, please save me). He told us there was no space to get out,” Prabhjot cried.

Fourteen victims have been identified so far: Joyneel, Shahjan, Mohammad Abdul, Sanyam, Sagar, Neelesh, Aditya, Anamika, Mohammad Ammar, Suraj Shah, Bhavishya, Sukhmani, Jyoti, Sumalya, and Anucha. (Express photo by- Vishal Srivastav)

‘We were on call with him’

Another victim, Joyneel Chakravorty (27), also worked at the centre. His relative, Vishwanath Sarkar, said he called his aunt, who lived in Lucknow, around 2 pm and they rushed to the spot.

“Joyneel called his aunt around 2 pm in a state of panic. Chachi, hum phans gaye hain, kisi tarah bachao (Aunt, we’re trapped, please save us somehow),” he said.

The relatives said they reached the spot around 3 pm and believe that several lives could have been saved had the decision to break the wall been taken earlier. “They broke the wall in front of us. We were still on the call with Joyneel at the time,” Vishwajeet said.

This before-and-after photo combination displays the severe extent of the structural damage. (PTI)

A third victim was identified as Suraj Singh, who worked at the same centre and lived with Joyneel. Vishwajeet said Suraj’s parents could not be contacted as their phones were switched off.

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Fourteen victims have been identified so far: Joyneel, Shahjan, Mohammad Abdul, Sanyam, Sagar, Neelesh, Aditya, Anamika, Mohammad Ammar, Suraj Shah, Bhavishya, Sukhmani, Jyoti, Sumalya, and Anucha.

KGMU Vice-Chancellor Sonia Nityanand told The Indian Express that 24 people were brought to the hospital, of whom 15 were declared dead on arrival. “There were no injury marks on the bodies… all of them suffocated to death. The autopsy is being conducted.”

‘Kids tried to escape using drain pipe’

Kalpana Srivastava, an eyewitness and the mother of 25-year-old victim Aditya Srivastava, said she saw boys and girls trying to escape the building using a drainage pipe.

“My son’s friends jumped, but he just could not come out,” she said. “Our last conversation with him was around 1 pm.”

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She said Aditya had started working at the animation centre about a month and a half ago for a salary of Rs 9,000. Questioning how the establishment was allowed to operate, she added, “I just want to ask how a place like this was given a licence to function without proper ventilation and exits.”

Kalpana Srivastava, an eyewitness and the mother of 25-year-old victim Aditya Srivastava, said she saw boys and girls trying to escape the building using a drainage pipe.

“My son’s friends jumped, but he just could not come out,” she said. “Our last conversation with him was around 1 pm.”

She said Aditya had started working at the animation centre about a month and a half ago for a salary of Rs 9,000. Questioning how the establishment was allowed to operate, she added, “I just want to ask how a place like this was given a licence to function without proper ventilation and exits.”