NOIDA, INDIA — A devastating fire ripped through a multi-storey residential building in Noida’s Mamura village on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, leaving two people dead and forcing a dramatic, large-scale rescue operation.

While emergency crews successfully evacuated approximately 50 families from the smoke-filled complex, two residents tragically succumbed to severe smoke inhalation.

The fire broke out during the afternoon hours in the ground-floor parking area of the five-story (G+4) residential building located in Lane 2 of Mamura, under Sector 66. According to preliminary investigations, the catalyst for the blaze was a spark from an electric vehicle (EV) battery being charged on the ground floor.

These initial sparks quickly ignited nearby petrol-powered two-wheelers parked in the tight residential lot. Fueled by fuel tanks and various electrical components, the fire rapidly escalated, sending thick, toxic black smoke billowing upward through the building's stairwells and trapping families on the upper floors.

Upon receiving distress calls, the Noida Fire Service mobilized a massive response, rushing seven fire tenders, a hydraulic platform, and emergency rescue vehicles to the scene. Local police joined the firefighters to orchestrate an urgent, room-by-room evacuation.

Using ladders and the hydraulic platform, rescue teams successfully extracted around 50 families trapped inside their apartments. Despite the high number of successful rescues, two victims—identified as a man and a woman who reportedly had existing health-related issues—inhaled a lethal amount of smoke.

"Two persons fell critically ill due to heavy smoke inhalation and were immediately shifted to the district hospital by ambulance, where they were unfortunately declared dead by doctors," police officials said in a statement.

In the wake of the tragedy, Noida Police have taken strict legal action. The owner and leaseholder of the building has been arrested and taken into custody. A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered under relevant provisions of the law for criminal negligence.

Authorities and forensic teams are actively examining whether the building complied with mandatory structural fire safety norms, possessed functional fire extinguishers, or had proper ventilation. Crucially, the investigation will also probe whether charging EV batteries in the congested ground-floor parking area violated municipal safety guidelines.