Hyderabad: In a fire accident that took place at Gulzar House near Charminar early Sunday morning, 17 people lost their lives and around 10 others were injured.
The dead include two children and four women.
The blaze erupted at the Srikrishna Pearls building around 6 am. Following it, eleven fire tenders rushed to the spot to control the flames.
The firefighters rescued some people trapped in the ground+1 building located in a congested lane in the commercial area.
Some people fell unconscious due to the thick smoke that enveloped the premises. There were about 30 people belonging to the family of a pearl trader and his employees.
The pearl trader’s shop, Modi Pearls, was on the ground floor, while his family and the families of some workers lived on the first floor.
Eight fire engines rush to scene
Eight fire engines were pressed into service to douse the fire. Senior police officials rushed to the spot.
They have been identified as Prahlad (70), Munni (70), Rajendar Modi (65), Sumitra (60), Hamey (7), Abhishek (31), Sheetal (35), Priyansh (4), Iraaj (2), Arushi (3), Rishabh (4), Pratham (1.5), Anuyan (3), Varsha (35), Pankaj (36), Rajini (32) and Iddu (4).
Injured have been admitted to Osmania, Yashoda Malakpet, Apollo DRDO and Apollo Hyderguda hospitals.
According to fire officials, the exact cause of the fire remains unknown.
Kin alleges delayed arrival of ambulance
Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav and GHMC Mayor Vijayalakshmi Gadwal visited Osmania General Hospital (OGH) to assess the situation after a fire accident. However, family members of the victims confronted the MP alleging a delayed arrival of the ambulance at the accident site.
The victims’ relatives said, “Sixteen members of my family died. A six-year-old girl could have been saved if the ambulance had arrived on time.”
They also alleged that the ambulance lacked oxygen masks.
Telangana CM express shock over fire accident
Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy has expressed shock over the fire accident. He directed officials to take all steps to rescue the people trapped in the fire.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the chief minister was in touch with police and fire services department officials.
He directed the officials to provide the best possible treatment to the injured.
Charminar MLA Mir Zulfiqar Ali visited the accident site and spoke to officials.
With inputs from IANS
The article has been updated with the number of deaths and injuries in the fire accident and CMO’s statement.
