At least 17 people, including a seven-year-old girl and several women, have died after a massive fire broke out in a building near Hyderabad’s iconic Charminar this morning. While the cause of the fire is not confirmed yet, it is suspected that a short circuit may have led to the tragedy.
A fire department official said they received a call around 6.30 am and rushed to the spot. Eleven fire engines fought the blaze and those injured were shifted to hospitals.
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said the family affected in the fire lived on top of their shop in the Gulzar House area. “I met the family members. Such incidents are very sad. I am not accusing anyone, but police, municipality, fire and electricity departments must be made stronger. I was told the firefighters today did not have proper equipment initially. We must bring better technology in the coming days. I will talk to the central government and the Prime Minister and try to get financial help for the families of those who died in this incident,” he said.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has expressed shock over the incident and asked officials to step up relief efforts and ensure the best treatment for those injured.
The area where the incident occurred has a row of jewellery shops and is very close to the iconic Charminar. Many of these shops in the area are over a century old and are cheek-by-jowl set-ups sharing walls.
Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the bodies have been recovered and sent to hospitals and that the state government will share full information soon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said he was “deeply anguished” by the loss of lives in the fire. “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,” the PMO said in a post on X.
M Anil Kumar Yadav, Rajya Sabha MP from Congress, told NDTV that the rescue work is still on. “This is a very unfortunate incident. This is a marketplace. I would appreciate the firefighters and other departments and they have tried their best. The fire has been put off.”
Sneha Mehra, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said there was only one entry point to the building. “Another entry point was created and firefighters entered from there. Most of the people inside were unconscious,” she said. “These are old establishments with some new construction. Only one narrow path leads to the area where the fire happened.”
