HYDERABAD: A major fire broke out at the Mangala Gowri Shopping Mall on Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills, on Thursday morning. Four people who were inside the building at the time escaped with minor injuries after breaking a window. The fire is suspected to have started during the renovation works.
The injured persons — Narsamma, Jagadeeshwari, Raju and Ramu, all natives of Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh — said they were working inside the premises when the fire broke out and were unaware of how it started.
Narsamma said, “Along with me, three others were trapped on the first floor. There was a huge fire. We could not see anything in front of us. We could not even see the stairs.”
Within minutes, thick smoke engulfed the building. “It was difficult to come out. If the glass had not been broken, we would have died. Our bike was also burnt in the fire,” she said.
Jagadeeshwari said they first ran to the third floor but found no exit. “We went up and down several times. We could not even breathe and thought we would die. Finally, my husband broke a window, and we escaped,” she said. The victims said the fire appeared to have started on the top floor and spread to other floors.
They were trapped inside for nearly half an hour before managing to escape. Fire officials said they received a call around 11.20 am and rushed three fire tenders to the spot. Over 30 firefighters took part in the operation. As there was no major stock in the shop, the fire did not spread extensively and was brought under control.
HC seeks govt reply on Gulzar Houz fire lapses
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has asked the state government to respond to allegations of negligence by fire services and medical authorities in the Gulzar Houz fire that killed 17 persons.
Taking suo motu cognisance of a letter written by Hyderabad resident Santhosh Gupta, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin issued notices to the Principal Secretary, Home Department; the Director General, Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services; the Director of Medical and Health; and the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad.
The court has given them four weeks to file their replies. In his letter, Gupta alleged that his daughter and 16 other family members died due to incompetence and the lack of basic equipment during the May 18 fire. According to him, electrical power went off around 2.30 am.
At about 5.50 am, he noticed smoke on the first floor and alerted his family. Six members went downstairs and found smoke coming from a ground-floor shop. When they partially lifted the shutter, they saw the ceiling on fire. By 6.05 am, the fire had spread. Between 6.12 am and 6.16 am, calls were made to 101, 100 and 108, requesting 10 ambulances.
However, he alleged that the first fire engine and ambulance reached only around 6.45 am. He claimed the fire engine had no water, ambulances lacked oxygen cylinders and that the staff were not prepared to enter the building. Though more fire engines arrived later, he alleged they were not in working condition.
Around 8.04 am, civilians, including his son, entered the building and rescued victims. He claimed that all victims were rescued by civilians and not trained personnel, and that even basic CPR was not given. He further stated that after a delay of over 15 minutes, eight victims were shifted to Yashoda Hospital, Malakpet, but had died by then. Gupta sought a judicial inquiry to fix responsibility for the alleged negligence and lack of rescue equipment. The matter will be heard again after four weeks.