Hyderabab: At least 17 people, including eight children, died after a massive fire broke out in a building near Charminar in Hyderabad in the early hours of Sunday.
The death toll has increased to 17, confirmed GHMC Commissioner R V Karnan during his visit to the Osmania General Hospital mortuary.
According to Telangana Fire Disaster Response Emergency & Civil Defence, the blaze broke out on the ground floor of Gulzar House around 6 am and soon spread to the upper floors. “Firefighting, search &
rescue operations were carried out simultaneously and 17 people, who were trapped on the first
floor, were rescued by the fire department personnel and shifted to hospital,” the release said.
It took them almost 2 hours to extinguish the flames. “A total of 11 vehicles, 1 fire fighting Robot, 17 fire officers and 70 personnel were involved in extinguishing the fire and rescuing trapped persons,” it added.
“About nine suffered burn injuries and the rest succumbed to asphyxiation,” a senior fire tending officer told The Indian Express.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over loss of lives in Hyderabad fire and announced ex-gratia for the victims: “Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy in Hyderabad, Telangana. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” he posted on X.
