Two students had a narrow escape with the help of locals after a fire broke out at a girls’ hostel in Greater Noida today. A video of the incident has gone viral.

The video taken by a bystander shows the two students standing on the balcony of their hostel on the second floor, while flames shoot out from an adjacent window.

The police said other occupants of the hostel managed to take the stairs after an explosion in an air-conditioner sparked the blaze.

Locals managed to place a ladder near the balcony where the two students were standing. But the length of the ladder was short. To reach the ladder, the students climbed down and stood on the frame of the outside unit of a split air-conditioner.

The student who tried to reach the ladder first, however, slipped and fell. Firefighters said she is safe and did not suffer any serious injury.

The other student managed to reach the ladder and climbed down without incident.

“Yesterday evening at 5 pm, we received information that a fire broke out in Annapurna Girls Hostel in Knowledge Park-3. Our team immediately reached the spot and controlled the fire,” Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar Choubey said.

“Our senior official was also present at the spot. Some people were reported to be trapped inside, but before we reached there, everyone had come out safely. There has been no loss of life in this incident. Necessary legal action is being taken,” he said.