In Telangana, 17 members of a family died in a fire accident at Gulzar House near the historic Charminar in Hyderabad. The casualties include 8 children, all below 7 years of age, and six women. Director General of Telangana Disaster Response and Fire Services Y Nagi Reddy informed that the victims died due to smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is suspected to be an electrical short circuit in the ground plus two-storey building, which houses shops on the ground floor and residences on the upper floors.
Only two people were left in the family that was living at the ill-fated building for over a century and over generations. The death of 17 members of a family in the fire accident that took place in the ground-plus-two-storey building at Gulzar House, located close to the historic Charminar in Hyderabad, left the entire nation shocked. Some of the victims came from outside Hyderabad to spend their holidays with their families.
As per the details given by rescue teams and police, the single narrow entrance to the building decided the destiny for the victims. The rescue personnel had to break in and make another entry point for the firefighters to enter. The residents had little chance to escape when the fire erupted during the early hours today. The windows were closed, maybe due to the use of air conditioners. With no outlet for the smoke, the building turned into a gas chamber, and inhaling toxic smoke from the fire is suspected to have made those inside unconscious within minutes. Heart-rending scenes made everyone emotional at the Osmania General Hospital, where the relatives were seen waiting for formalities to be completed.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed grief over the loss of lives due to the fire tragedy in the Gulzar House. In a social media post, Mr Modi announced an ex gratia of two lakh rupees from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased, and the injured will be given 50 thousand rupees each.
The Telangana state government also announced an ex gratia of five lakh rupees each to the kin of the deceased in the fire accident. Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka announced this after visiting the Mortuary at Osmania General Hospital, where the bodies were kept. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy directed the officials to take all measures to provide assistance to the affected people.
Union Coal Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy visited the incident site and assured all assistance to the affected families.
