Noida, July 15: The massive blaze that engulfed the entire four-storey building in Noida’s Mamura area resulted in the death of two people on Wednesday, both in their twenties.

One of the deceased has been identified as a 22-year-old girl named Sneha Srivastava, a native of Bihar, while the boy, believed to be in his late 20s, has not been identified yet.

According to the police, the deceased man sustained burn injuries on more than 80 per cent of his body, while the girl suffered 40 percent burn.

A detailed investigation into the matter is underway.

Meanwhile, the police have detained the building owner for questioning and are examining as to whether adequate fire safety measures were in place.

The tragic incident started around 11 a.m. when an electric scooter parked in the basement of the four-story building in Sector-66’s Mamura area suddenly exploded while charging.

Preliminary investigations reveal that the fire spread rapidly after the explosion, quickly engulfing the entire building. The inferno which broke out on the ground floor of a residential building spread quickly to nearby vehicles and swept through the residential building in Noida’s Sector-66. A thick plume of smoke was seen billowing out of the building.

At least 30 and 40 bikes parked in the basement were burnt to ashes in the flames.

A large number of people were present in the building at the time of the incident. Residents on upper floors of the house were trapped due to the smoke and fire; however, those on lower floors managed to escape.

Hundreds of locals gathered at the scene upon seeing the fire and plumes of smoke. Seven fire tenders arrived at the scene but faced difficulty reaching the spot due to narrow lanes and heavy crowd. Fire engines used long hoses to douse the blaze, but it took them more than three hours to bring the fire fully under control.

It was the makeshift bridge, erected by the firefighters using ladders, that rescued more than 100 people and helped them evacuate from the deadly trap.

Reports indicate that the four-story building housed approximately 50 rooms, where a large number of working professionals lived with their families.

New Delhi, July 15: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said he met Maros Sefcovic, EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner, and reviewed the progress on the implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The two leaders also “explored avenues to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, critical technologies and resilient supply chains,” Goyal posted on X.

Goyal and Sefcovic in March this year met on the sidelines of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Cameroon, and reviewed progress on the India-EU FTA.

Both the leaders reviewed progress on the ongoing work towards the signing of the India-EU FTA, as announced by PM Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in January 2026 in New Delhi.

In Brussels, Goyal also held a productive meeting with Bernd Lange, Chairman of the Committee on International Trade (INTA), European Parliament.

“Discussed the India-EU FTA and the vast opportunities it offers for businesses, industries, and people on both sides, paving the way for a prosperous future. Also extended an invitation to him to visit India to further deepen our engagement,” said Goyal.

India and Belgium earlier discussed ways to expand cooperation across trade, investment, technology, logistics and workforce mobility. Goyal had an excellent meeting with David Clarinval, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Economy, and Agriculture of Belgium.

“We also exchanged views on the transformative potential of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement and reaffirmed our shared commitment to further strengthening economic ties for the mutual benefit of our businesses and people,” Goyal said in a post on X.

Goyal also met EU Commissioner for Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, and exchanged views on strengthening India–EU cooperation in clean growth, climate action and sustainable industrial development.

The discussions focused on expanding collaboration in renewable energy, green hydrogen, clean technologies, innovation, investments and resilient value chains to support our shared net-zero ambitions.

Lucknow, July 15: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested the Branch Manager and Credit Officer of Bank of Baroda’s Koireepur branch in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur district for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe from a loan beneficiary, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The arrested officials have been identified as Swarnim Srivastava, Branch Manager, and Pushpak Chaudhary, Credit Officer, both posted at the Bank of Baroda’s Koireepur branch.

According to the CBI, a case was registered on July 13 based on a complaint alleging that the accused officials had sought an undue advantage for the release of funds under a government-backed loan scheme.

The complainant had been sanctioned a Rs 5 lakh loan under the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana at the Koireepur branch. While the term loan component had already been disbursed, the overdraft facility sanctioned as part of the loan package was yet to be released.

The agency alleged that the Branch Manager and Credit Officer demanded a bribe of Rs 45,000 from the complainant in exchange for facilitating the disbursement of the overdraft component of the sanctioned loan.

Following verification of the complaint, the CBI laid a trap on July 14. During the operation, the agency caught the Credit Officer allegedly accepting Rs 35,000 from the complainant. The CBI claimed the money was accepted in conspiracy with and at the behest of the Branch Manager.

Subsequently, both officials were taken into custody and arrested by the agency.

The accused were produced before the competent court in Lucknow. Further investigation into the case is underway, the CBI said.

Earlier in the first week of this month, the CBI had arrested the Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Shillong, and two private persons for demanding a bribe of Rs 12 lakh from the complainant to process his outstanding bill to the tune of Rs 13.38 crore.

The accused public servant had instructed the complainant to give part of the bribe amount to the tune of Rs 4 lakh, in advance.