Fire breaks out in a compound in Secunderabad in Hyderabad
The six people were found unconscious by firefighters Thursday in a fifth-floor office room that was completely filled with smoke, in the building and were rushed to a state hospital, they said.
All six were pronounced dead by hospital doctors.
Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrasekhar Raoexpressed grief over the death and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the relatives of each deceased.
Director General of Disaster Response of Telangana State and Fire Services Y Nagi Reddy, who inspected the spot, told reporters on Friday that a fire broke out in the building at 7:20 pm on Thursday and a fire call was was received by the fire brigade control room at 19:31 following which tenders rushed to the area.
Fire and Rescue personnel said the door leading to the building’s exterior stairway, which houses several private offices, clothing and electronics stores, was found locked with unused items dumped there and firefighters the they have course for rescue and fire fighting.
The building was 32 meters high, with a cellar plus ground and eight upper floors.
Rescue teams with the help of specialized ladders rescued the detainees from the office, and the teams searched all floors for the evacuation of trapped people.
According to officials, initially, five people were rescued from the fifth floor and later five more from the building’s terrace and two more people from the fourth floor.
Firefighters found six unconscious people in a room of one of the offices and made them get out, but they died of asphyxiation.
The deceased were aged between 22 and 23 and belonged to Warangal, Mahabubabad and Khammam districts of Telangana.
They were employed at an e-commerce marketing firm that had offices in the complex, they said.
Extensive damage was reported on the fifth floor of the building while some offices located on the seventh floor were also damaged.
On the cause of the fire, officials said they suspected an electrical short started the fire, adding that it spread through the duct and caused major damage to the fifth floor.
Twelve firefighters rushed to the scene to put out the blaze.
The fire was brought under control after midnight on Thursday, said another officer overseeing the rescue operation.
The building’s owners were prosecuted in 2013 for violating fire prevention and fire safety measures, officials said.
During the firefighting operation, it was found that the available firefighting equipment, including expired fire extinguishers, was inoperative.
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) has been requested to examine the building’s structural stability and submit a report even though the building has been temporarily closed for further operations, said a release from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
One case has been registered by the police in connection with the fire
(with PTI inputs)
