Two kids among 5 perish in Nampally fire incident

Hyderabad: Followinga grueling 22-hour rescue operation, multiple teams recovered five bodies, including those of two children and a woman, from the furniture shop in Nampally that was engulfed in fire on Saturday. The state government has announced the payment of an ex gratia sum of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the family of each of the deceased.

The deceased have been identified as Akhil (8) and Praneeth (11), the sons of building watchman Yadaiah, along with Mohd Imtiyaz (28), a salesman at the store, Mohd Habeebuddin (35), an auto driver employed at the furniture shop, and Bibi Begum (46), who served as a sweeper in the building.

It is believed they succumbed to asphyxiation, although the exact cause of the deaths would be known after post-mortem.

Imtiyaz and Habeeb reportedly rescued three persons from the burning store but lost their lives while trying to rescue the trapped kids.

On Saturday afternoon, a major fire broke out at Batcha Furniture, a shop in the four-storey commercial building located in Sai Vishwas Chambers, adjacent to the Hindi Prachar Sabha on the Nampally Station Road. Following the incident, it came to light that five persons were trapped in the basement. Only their bodies were recovered on Sunday. Thick smoke inside the building prevented the firefighters and other rescue teams from entering the building until Sunday morning. Thereafter, the rescuers then went inside and brought the bodies out one after the other. Personnel from multiple departments including police, fire, NDRF and HYDRAA, took part in the rescue operations that began immediately after the fire incident.

According to eyewitnesses, when the fire broke out, Praneeth and Akhil were trapped in their room located in the cellar. Their parents had gone out to work at the time of the incident. Bibi Begum was also in the cellar and got trapped in the fire. Raheem, brother of victim Imtiyaz, said that Imtiyaz and Habeeb initially came out of the building on noticing the fire, but on coming to know that some persons were still trapped in the cellar, they went inside to rescue them. “First time, they went inside and brought three people out of the building. However, they too got trapped in the fire and smoke when both went inside the building again to rescue the two children. Unfortunately, they too got trapped and could not come out as there was thick smoke,” Raheem said.

Raheem said Imtiyaz was married around three years ago and has two daughters, the eldest aged around two years. Habeeb too has two kids. His ailing wife is in a hospital.

Lakshmi, the mother of Praneeth and Akhil, shared that they were able to reach them by phone after the fire broke out. “They informed us they were on their way out, but they never made it. After that, the phone went silent.”

Praneeth was studying in Class VI and Akhil in Class II at a private school. Sameer Khan, son of Bibi and native of Karnataka, said: “My mother worked here for five years. At the time of the incident, she was cooking inside, when we had a conversation.” Telangana Fire and Disaster Response Director General Vikram Singh Mann, who inspected the building, stated that when the call regarding fire was received, fire tenders from the nearest fire station arrived at the scene within two minutes. In a short period, we assembled all personnel and equipment to initiate firefighting and rescue operations. “Despite our efforts, it took some time to bring the fire under control due to the significant amount of combustible materials stored and the limited space available to work within the building,” he explained.

Vikram Singh mentioned that a lot of combustible materials such as furniture, raw material, chemicals, plastics, mattresses, and foam were stored in the two basements of the building. Due to the presence of a huge quantity of combustible material, the fire spread rapidly. The DG said: “The builder-owner had constructed rooms in the cellar where watchman Yadaiah’s family, which included his wife and two children, along with the sweeper Bibi Begum, resided”.

The two children and the sweeper were unable to escape as the exit points were obstructed. One of the exit routes had a shutter that was both fixed and locked, said officials. On Sunday, following a complaint lodged, the police registered a case and arrested the furniture shop owner, Satish Batcha. Police said he is being placed in judicial remand. Additionally, the fire department will file a case and pursue legal action against the building owner for not adhering to fire safety regulations. Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy announced payment of the ex gratia sum of Rs 5 lakh and directed Hyderabad District Collector Harichandana Dasari to disburse the amount immediately. The Minister said strict legal action would be taken against those responsible for the fire incident and assured the state government’s support to the families of the deceased.