Hyderabad: Toll hits 10 as family’s lone survivor in Nampally fire succumbs; building owner in police custody

With the death of Talha, who the OGH doctors said had sustained over 75 percent burns in the incident, the toll from the fire reached 10, including the seven others in his family.

“We had put him on the high-oxygen cylinder. He had burns all over his body. It was over 75 percent, so the chances of him surviving since the beginning were very low,” OGH Superintendent Dr B Nagendra told South First.

#Hyderbad: At least 9 people, including seven of a family, were killed in an inferno in Hyderbad's Bazarghat.

The fire broke out while a car was being repaired in a garage located on the ground floor of the building. Several others were rescued as well. pic.twitter.com/42rCSF7J6d

— South First (@TheSouthfirst) November 13, 2023

Meanwhile, the DCP (Central Zone) M Venkateshwarlu told South First: “After the fire broke started, the building’s owner (Ramesh Jaiswal) developed breathing problems because he was on the premises. As a result, he was admitted to the Global Hospital. He had not absconded.”

The DCP added: “He has been discharged now and we have taken him in our custody. We will produce him in court on Saturday and seek his remand.”

Entire family passed away 

Of the nine deceased in the fire accident, seven people were from Talha’s family.

Among the deceased were his grandparents Mohammed Azam (58) and Rehana Sultana (50), aunts Thahoora Fareen (35) and Faiza Sameen (26), and uncle Hasib-ur-Rahman (32).

Two of his cousins — Tarooba (13), and Tooba (6) — also lost their lives in the fire mishap.

Another couple, Mohammed Zakeer Hussain (66) and Nikath Sultana (55), also lost their lives. The police said asphyxiation caused the deaths.

The cops also said the blaze started due to the chemicals kept in drums in a storehouse-cum-repair shop.

The chemical substance inside the drums fuelled the fire that spread to the upper floors around 9.40 am on that fateful day, trapping residents in the five-storey building, the police said.

Also read: Tent house storing crackers catches fire near Hyderabad’s Sun City

How the fire spread

DCP (Central Zone) M Venkateshwarlu told reporters that prima facie it appeared that the deceased passed away due to suffocation as the smoke reached the upper floors.

“Repair works of two- and three-wheelers were going on in the godown on the ground floor. Drums of chemicals must have caused the fire,” he said.

“Most of the deceased were residing on the first and second floors. Residents on the third and fourth floors faced difficulty breathing,” added the DCP.

A video of the incident showed the Enforcement Vigilance and Disaster Management wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the National Disaster Response Force personnel rescuing a trapped woman and child. At least six fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames.

Several others trapped in the building were rescued. Some complained of breathing issues and were taken to the Osmania General Hospital for treatment.

Also read: What was common — and avoidable — in the Secunderabad fires?

Eyewitness account

“We exchanged Deepavali greetings with residents living on the second floor. We usually wake up early and after seeing the fire, we used a ladder that my brother brought to escape from the balcony. My mother sustained minor injuries in the incident.” Jayprakash, who works in a neighbourhood garment shop, told South First earlier.

He added that the residents had reached a consensus earlier in the society that oil drums could not be stored on the apartment premises.

Another neighbour, Soundaryam, a retired teacher of Stanley School, told South First, “It was a small fire at first. We were calling the ambulance and in the meantime, it (fire) spread and spread upwards. Due to the smoke, it was dark by then and nothing was visible. Family members of two families have died in the accident.”

She added: “I never knew the families personally, they might have spoken to me because retirement I generally sit at home and don’t go out.”

She also said that the owner (Jaiswal) never bothered to shift his godown even after residents urged him to do so.

“He is quite known. He used to give excuses that he would vacate the godown and shift it somewhere. Even in the lane, you can see several boxes stored. They all belong to them (the godown owner). Later, they rented the space below us and stored them there as well. My son has had to work from home, so he used to get disturbed. I asked the owner how running a godown could be allowed there. He would say he would ‘shift it’,” she said.