Massive fire at restaurant in UP’s Moradabad, woman dead, 6 injured

A woman died and six people were injured after a massive fire broke out at a five-storey restaurant on Rampur Road in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, police said on Monday.

The blaze erupted at the restaurant on Sunday night under the Katghar police station limits, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Kumar Ranvijay Singh said.

Firefighters and police promptly reached the spot and rescued seven people, including the restaurant owner Pradeep Srivastava.

The injured were taken to the district hospital, where Srivastava’s 56-year-old mother, Maya Srivastava, was declared dead. The remaining six were undergoing treatment and were stated to be stable, officials said.

Preliminary reports suggest the fire started after sparks from nearby wedding fireworks ignited cooking gas cylinders in the restaurant’s kitchen, causing explosions that spread flames from the basement to the third floor.

The firefighters brought the flame under control, the officials said.

Senior officials, including DIG Muniraj Ji and SDM Sadar Ram Mohan Meena, later visited the site. The exact cause of the fire is being investigated.