Hyderabad furniture store fire: Death toll mounts to 5; govt announces compensation

Hyderabad: Rescue workers retrieved five bodies on Sunday from the rubble of a furniture store that caught fire a day earlier, police said

The bodies were found in the basement of a four-storey building and were shifted to Osmania General Hospital. The bodies were handed over to their families after the post-mortem examination.

The deceased were identified as Mohammed Imtiyaz (27), a worker at the store; Syed Habeeb (28), an auto trolley driver; Beban Bee (55); Akhil (11) and Praneet (7).

The two children were sons of watchman Yadaiah, who, along with his wife, had come out for some work. Yadaiah was earlier believed to be trapped in the fire.

The watchman’s family was living in the basement. Preliminary investigation by the authorities revealed that Imtiyaz and Habeeb had entered the cellar to rescue the three others trapped in the fire, but they too got trapped.

The families of the victims had been waiting near the spot with the hope of finding them alive. However, their hopes were dashed when the rescue team did not find any survivors.

Following a protest by the relatives of the deceased, the Telangana government announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia each for the families of the deceased.

Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced the ex gratia and assured all assistance to the families. Terming the incident as unfortunate, he said the negligence by the store owner led to the tragedy.

Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), police, and firefighting personnel were continuing the rescue operation.

The fire broke out around 1 p.m. in the building located near Nampally Railway Station in the heart of the city on Saturday.

The firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control after nearly eight hours, using skylifts and robots, but thick smoke hampered the rescue effort.

Even after 24 hours, smoke was billowing out of the basement of the building.

The store owner was allegedly using the basement illegally by storing furniture. Director General of Fire Services Vikram Man Singh told the media that furniture and chemicals were stored in the cellar without mandatory fire safety clearances.

He suspects that the fire may have been triggered by a short circuit or a cigarette.

The DG of fire services said a criminal case would be registered against the shop owner, and strict action would be taken

The fire has severely damaged the building, which had a ground and four floors with two cellars, the first of which was densely packed with furniture materials.

With doubts on the structural stability of the building after the fire, a team of engineering experts from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) inspected the building. Based on the team’s report, the authorities will make a decision on demolishing the building.

IANS