A tragic fire on Thursday morning claimed the lives of two construction workers, while three others managed to escape.
The fire is suspected to have been caused by a gas cylinder leak or a short circuit in an under-construction four-storey building. The incident took place at Seegehalli Gate on the outskirts of Bengaluru, in the Madanayakanahalli police station limits.
The deceased have been identified as Uday Bhanu (40) from Uttar Pradesh and Roshan (23) from Bihar.
According to the police, the fire broke out in a residential four-storey under-construction building in Shivani Green Layout.
At the time of the incident, five workers were inside the building, working on the interiors and also using it for sleeping and cooking. When the fire broke out, five workers were asleep on the third and fourth floors. Three of them rushed to the fourth floor, while one worker climbed onto the overhead water tank and was later rescued by firefighters.
Two others jumped onto a nearby coconut tree and climbed down safely. Unfortunately, two workers were trapped in the blaze and were tragically charred to death.
Officials from the fire and emergency services said that they received a call at around 11:10 am. Three fire tenders from Peenya, Sunkadakatte, and Rajajinagar, along with an SDRF team, rushed to the spot. It took them over four hours to completely douse the fire.
While clearing the debris, they recovered the charred bodies of the two workers. The worker, who was in the overhead water tank of the building, was rescued using a ladder.
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and further investigation is underway.
The Madanayakanahalli police have registered a case against the building owner, Sathish.