Six persons staying in a four-storeyed hotel were killed in a devastating fire accident that started in an electrical vehicle bike showroom and spread upstairs in Secunderabad, under Market Police Station limits, late on Monday night.
Hyderabad City Police Commissioner C. V. Anand, who along with senior police officers was camping at the accident site, said till last reports came in, six persons, including a woman, had died and the injured were rushed to Gandhi Hospital and other nearby private hospitals. Most of the victims died of suffocation as thick plumes of smoke caught the guests in Hotel Ruby unawares. Panic stricken inmates tried to escape but were trapped in the rooms.
After inspecting all the floors, Mr. Anand said the number of confirmed deaths were six. While five bodies were sent to Gandhi Hospital. A woman, who along with five others was rushed to Yashoda Hospital, Secunderabad was declared brought dead. The other have been admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, according a senior personnel of Yashoda Hospital. Most of the victims are said to be on business trip to the city. The police are trying to get details of the victims and their addresses.
Mr. Anand told reporters that initial reports suggested that fire started in the cellar of the EV bike showroom and spread to the upper floors.
Eyewitness accounts said a few locals noticed smoke emanating from the showroom and alerted the police and fire service personnel. A few youth along with Market Police Station Sub Inspector Anjaneyulu and his staff rushed to the upper floors of the building from an adjoining Hotel Yatri Inn and found a few guests unconscious in the corridor.
As thick smoke engulfed the other floors, the youth managed to rescue a few by which time the fire service personnel also arrived. Two fire tenders from nearby fire stations began rescue operation.
It is said that there were 25 guests in the lodge and the fire services personnel managed to rescue nine persons and shifted them to Gandhi Hospital. Some guests broke the glass panes of the windows and jumped down. Many of them were severely injured.
Home Minister Mohammed Mahamood Ali and Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinvas Yadav rushed to the spot.
