Hyderabad: A massive fire broke out in the cellar of a four-storied residential building in Bazarghat, Hyderabad. In the incident that took place due to the explosion of chemical bottles, nine were killed. Among them, seven belong to a family.
The fire, which broke out in a car garage on the ground floor, spread to the upper floors, trapping the residents of 16 rental apartments.
Following the accident, five fire tenders reached the scene to extinguish the fire, with DCP Central K. Venkateshwarlu supervising the operation. Huge flames were seen emanating from the building.
The fire department started both firefighting and rescue operations simultaneously and brought down around 21 members with the help of ladders and staircases. At least eight were injured in the fire.
According to a report by the Disaster Response and Fire Services Department, the building did not have any fire safety systems available.
“Fire initially ignited at stilt floor of the building where unauthorized storage of chemicals in plastic drums and other flammable materials including fire rolls. Within no time, the fire spread to all upper floors vertically,” said the Disaster Response and Fire Services Department.
Following is the list of the deceased:
- Md. Azam (58 years)
- Rehana Sultana (50 years)
- Faiza Sameen (26 years)
- Thahoora Fareen (35 years)
- Tooba (6 years)
- Tarooba (13 years)
- Md. Zakeer Hussain (66 years)
- Hasib-ur-Rahman (32 years)
- Nikath Sultana (55 years)
Short circuit triggered fire accident
The DCP said that a mechanic was repairing a car when due to a short circuit fire started and diesel and oil stored in containers caught fire.
Investigation is going on to know the lapses and the exact reason for the accident.
Meanwhile, the owner of the building Ramesh Jaiswal, who is reportedly absconding, has been booked by the Nampally police.
KCR offers condolences, announces ex-gratia
Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao has expressed deep shock over the fire incident. He offered condolences on the deaths in the accident.
He has also ordered the concerned officials to take all relief measures immediately.
The state government has announced ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased. Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao, who visited the scene along with Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, sought details of the incident. Expressing condolences to the families of the victims, he described it as an unfortunate incident.
Raise awareness on fire safety: Mahmood Ali to police
Later, Home Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali also visited the fire accident spot and inspected the building.
Mahmood Ali interacted with the officials of the fire department and the local police. He directed the police to initiate tough action against the building owner for illegally storing the hazardous chemicals in the residential area.
He also directed the police and fire department officials to create more awareness about fire safety and conduct surprise checks at the commercial establishments, factories, industries and high-rise buildings to check adherence to fire safety norms.
