Death toll raises upto 17 in Gulzar Houz fire accident

The fire started around 6 am at a ground plus two storied building located on the Gulzar Houz to Charminar road. On noticing the fire, the local people alerted the fire department and the local police.

Hyderabad: The death toll in the fire tragedy at Gulzar Houz, Charminar climbed to 17 people including seven children. A few more people are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

The fire started around 6 am at a ground plus two storied building located on the Gulzar Houz to Charminar road. On noticing the fire, the local people alerted the fire department and the local police.

The Charminar police station being a stone throw away from the fire incident spot, the police rushed to the place. Soon fire tender from Moghalpura, Chandulal Baradari, Gowliguda, Salar Jung Museum and other fire stations rushed to the spot.

“The fire broke out on the ground floor and spread to the upper floors. Firefighting, search and rescue operations were carried out simultaneously and 17 people who were trapped on the first floor were rescued by the fire department personnel and shifted them to hospital,” said Telangana Fire Department Director General, Y Nagi Reddy.

However, 17 other people – Prahlad ( 70) Munni (70) Rajendar Modi (65) Sumitra (60) Hamey (7) Abhishek (31), Sheetal (35), Priyansh (4) , Iraaj (2), Arushi (3), Rishabh (4), Pratham (18 months), Anuyan (3 ) Varsha (35), Pankaj (36), Rajini (32) and Iddu (4).

A total of 11 vehicles, one fire fighting robot, 17 fire officers and 70 personnel were involved in extinguishing the fire and rescuing trapped persons. It took two hours for the firemen to extinguish the fire. The suspected cause of the fire is under investigation. The value of the property damaged is yet to be ascertained, said Nagi Reddy.