The batteries of the e-scooter in the cellar exploded, adding to the blaze. Three commercial gas cylinders literally added fuel to the fire.
Hyderabad City Police clue team at the fire site. (Sumit Jha/South First)
The owners of the Secunderabad e-scooter showroom, whose cellar was the origin of the blaze that killed eight people in the five-storey building on the evening of Monday, 12 September, have been booked by the police, the cops said on Tuesday.
Ranjit Singh Bagga and his son Sumit Singh, the owners of Ruby Motors, under Sections 304 (2) and 324 of the IPC, and Section 9(b) of the Explosives Act of 1884.
All the dead were guests at the hotel, a police official had earlier told South First, adding that they were residents of Delhi, Chennai, and Vijayawada.
Four of them have since been identified as Alladi Harish from Vijayada, Virender Kumar Devakar from Delhi, Sitharaman and Balaji from Chennai.
The police said they are currently working on ascertaining the identity of the remaining four deceased, including a woman.
The police at the spot told South First that the blaze started in the cellar — not quite the building’s basement, but not quite its ground floor either — at around 9.30 pm, with the fire department being alerted about it within five minutes.
The building was a mere two minutes away from the nearest fire station, which enabled the fire department to dispatch two fire engines that reached the spot by 9.37 pm.
The firefighters noted that around 40 two-wheeler electric vehicles (EVs) were kept in the cellar, and as the blaze progressed, it heated up each one’s battery to the point of explosion.
Each explosion only added to the intensity of the blaze. The fact that the cellar contained three commercial gas cylinders — which have more capacity than those used in household kitchens — only exacerbated the matter.
As the firefighters attempted to control the fire, it rose to the ground floor — the showroom — and then to the first floor, where the hotel began.
The firefighters and the police pointed to several factors that hampered their efforts to rescue the 25-odd people trapped in various rooms across the four storeys of the hotel.
The first was that one of the two staircases that could be used to evacuate the hotel patrons was inaccessible.
The second staircase, a firefighter told South First, was filled with thick smoke that obscured the view, making their ascent difficult. However, they somehow managed to overcome it.
Meanwhile, the police personnel — who had arrived at the spot by this time — also jumped into action.
The firefighter told South First that one of his colleagues and a police sub-inspector managed to enter the second floor of the building on fire from a neighbouring building.
They managed to help two people get out of the building, and then spotted at least five-six others lying unconscious across the first and second floors.
Eight killed and at least 10 others injured in a major fire that broke out in an electric bike showroom in #Secunderabad
All the dead were guests in the Ruby hotel above the building pic.twitter.com/joGbVB1bjC
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) September 13, 2022
Even as these rescue efforts were underway, firefighters were trying to bring the blaze under control.
Meanwhile, the people extricated from the building were being sent to Yashoda Hospital, which was merely 300m away.
As government ambulances began to arrive, some of the patients were also shifted to the government-run Gandhi Hospital.
The firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control in an hour, after which they concentrated on evacuating the people trapped on the top two floors first.
Most of their efforts were successful, but in some cases, people were declared dead on arrival at Yashoda Hospital.
A sub-inspector told South First on Tuesday that the building that was on fire had several violations, some of which — had they been addressed — might not have led to deaths.
For starters, he explained that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had given permission for a building that would be 15 metres in height.
However, if one were to count the cellar as a part of the building, the total height was 17.5 metres.
This, he said, would put the building under the purview of a fresh set of rules for those that are more than 15 metres in height.
And one rule for such buildings was that they should have two exits. This building had only one.
Finally, he explained, the owners had obtained permission to use the building as a commercial space, but that did not include the cellar, where the EVs were being charged overnight.
As news of the death of eight people emerged, there was an outpouring of grief.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi consoled the deaths. He also announced a solatium of ₹2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased, and ₹50,000 for each of the injured.
He said the money would be paid out from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
Saddened by the loss of lives due to a fire in Secunderabad, Telangana. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be paid to the next of kin of each deceased. Rs. 50,000 would be paid to the injured: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 13, 2022
Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced a solatium of ₹3 lakh to the kin of the deceased.
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