9 belonging to two families killed in fire in apartment building in Hyderabad

Nine people belonging to two families died of ''asphyxiation'' and burns while another person was injured in a major fire in a residential building in the Nampally area here on Monday, police and fire department officials said.

Ten people were found in unconscious condition on different floors of the apartment complex, which has ground and four upper floors, and as smoke quickly engulfed the stairwell of the only available staircase, the inmates on the upper floors were not able to come down and got trapped in smoke and fire which caused deaths, they said.

Though rescue teams shifted the injured to a state-run hospital, nine among them were declared brought dead.

Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department in a release said the fire initially ignited at the stilt floor of the building where unauthorised storage of chemicals in plastic drums and other flammable materials were stored and the fire spread to all upper floors vertically.

Based on the preliminary investigation, a senior police official citing some eye-witnesses, who stayed in the neighbourhood, said sparks from firecrackers burst by some children in the area fell on the drums, triggering the fire. However, the exact cause would be known after investigation, he said.

A call was received at the Fire Control Room at 9.34 AM informing them that sparks were coming from the stilt floor of the building, Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department said.

Immediately, fire tenders were rushed to the area and fire personnel took up the rescue efforts and extinguished the blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation, it said.

The building has ground and four upper floors with 16 apartments occupied by tenants. A total of 21 people were trapped on different floors of the building as thick smoke spread over the building along with the flames.

They were rescued by staircase and extension ladders from the windows, a senior Fire department official said.

TV visuals showed fire personnel evacuating people, including children, through the windows of the building.

The officials further said apart from those rescued, 10 people were found unconscious and they were shifted to a hospital. Nine among them died and one is undergoing treatment for burns, they said.

The deceased included seven members of one family and an elderly couple of another family, who were residing on the second and third floors of the building.

The deceased were in the age group of six and 66 and included two girls and four women, they said.

Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department said that this building is a residential apartment, with a stilt floor is meant for parking. Instead, chemical tins and drums, raw materials, polyester resin and related products were dumped/stored.

''Smoke quickly engulfed the stairwell of the only available staircase. Inmates on the upper floors were not able to come down and got trapped in smoke and fire which caused deaths,'' it said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) M Venkateshwarlu said the fire spread rapidly and thick smoke also spread over the building even as police and fire personnel evacuated the families from the building. One car and some two-wheelers were also burnt in the incident.

Police were also verifying CCTV footage. A case was registered.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed grief over the deaths.

Rao announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased.

Tamilisai Soundararajan directed the Chief Secretary to take immediate measures to provide comprehensive medical assistance to those who sustained injuries in the incident and also issued directives to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, a Press Communique from Raj Bhavan said.

The Governor further directed to furnish a comprehensive report on the circumstances leading to the fire, the response mechanisms in place, and the corrective measures that can be implemented within the next two days, it said.

Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao also visited the place.

AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, in a post on ''X'', said ''My heart goes out to the victims of the fire accident. I pray for the swift and full recovery of the injured, and for strength to the loved ones of those who passed away.'' Owaisi also requested the Telangana Chief Secretary to immediately give an ex-gratia of at least Rs 10 lakh.

Earlier in March, six people, including four women, died of asphyxiation following a major fire in a multi-storey commercial complex in Secunderabad.