Hyderabad: Lone survivor of inferno jumped from window

Secunderabad: The lone survivor of the inferno at scrap godown at Bhoiguda, Prem Kumar, jumped from a window of the first floor on noticing flames. In his statement to the police, he said, 15 workers were sleeping on the first floor. As the fire spread three persons jumped from the window and Prem Kumar followed them.

The police said Prem Kumar suffered severe burn injuries. As per his statement there were three others who jumped from the first floor before him. The others did not get a chance as they were sleeping. Efforts are on to trace the other workers; they will also be questioned about the incident.

Meanwhile Home Minister Md. Mahmood Ali, said, "we have conducted a meeting with all stakeholders, such as the Fire Services, the police and GHMC, and instructed them to take strict measures to prevent such incidents. Also, the police have been told to take stringent action against the godown owner."

Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who also visited the site, while interacting with the media, said, "we have ordered an inquiry. An ex-gratia amount of Rs. 5 lakh has been announced by the government for the families of each deceased".

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Collector Sharman, Police Commissioner CV Anand, GHMC Commissioner D S Lokesh Kumar and other officials also visited the site and Gandhi hospital and assessed the situation.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted expressing condolences to the bereaved families.