Hyderabad: In one of the worst ever fire accidents in the city, 17 members of a city jeweller’s family, including eight children died, when a fire broke out in their building near the historic Charminar in the Old City on Sunday. The only route out was a narrow staircase.
Prahlad Modi and his younger brother Rajender Kumar Modi, both of whom died in the mishap, own Krishna Pearls and Modi Pearls near Gulzar Houz and their family roots are in the area for the past 125 years. While the commercial establishments were located on the ground floor, all the victims were sleeping on the two floors above and trapped inside when the fire broke out at around 5.45 am.
Of the 21 family members staying in the building at the time of mishap, only four survived. Most of the victims died of asphyxiation, and some sustained heavy burns. Four families related to one another were residing in the building and many of them came to spend their vacation.
District Fire Officer, Hyderabad -1, T Venkanna was injured during the rescue operations and was admitted to hospital where his condition is said to be stable.
Director General of Telangana fire disaster response, Y Nagi Reddy, in a statement said that the distress call was received at 6:16 am and a fire tender from Moghalpura reached the fire ground at 6.20 am. Later, 10 more fire tenders were pressed into service and a total 87 personnel were engaged in rescue operations.
Firefighters, who could not reach the upper floors through the narrow entrance that was blocked with parked motorcycles, went through the neighbouring house’s entrance, and broke the wall of the second floor to rescue the inmates. But despite their efforts, all 17 victims underwent asphyxiation and were found unconscious. They were quickly transported to hospitals, and later succumbed to their injuries.
According to survivors, upon noticing fire in the ground floor, suspected to have been caused by an electric short circuit, three of the victims came out but went inside to wake up others and bring them out. As the staircase leading to the first floor was narrow and already engulfed in fire, they could not come down and they too were trapped.
Except for the two brothers and their spouses, all others stayed in different places in the city but came to their ancestral house on Friday to spend the weekend. Prahlad Modi, his wife, son, daughter-in-law, two daughters and five grandchildren died. His brother Rajender Kumar Modi and his wife also succumbed to fire along with four other relatives.
DG Nagi Reddy said “The owners and shop workers informed us that they had recently renovated the shop premises, and used a lot of wooden material. While short circuits are the main cause, the entire place having wooden material is another problem.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a statement expressed his deep anguish over the incident and announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased from PM National Relief Fund. He conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy who expressed shock over the incident ordered for a high level inquiry into the mishap. The state government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased.
He rushed city incharge minister Ponnam Prabhakar to the accident spot and Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha to the Osmania Hospital where the victims were initially brought. On the request of the family members, they were later shifted to two different corporate hospitals. However, none of the 17 admitted to hospital survived.
The deceased were identified as: Prahlad Roy Modi (73), Munni Modi (70), Pankaj Modi (37), Varsha Modi (32). Rajender Modi (67), Sumithra Modi (65), Abhishek Modi (31), Sheetal Jain (46), Rajini Apawar (47), Hamey (7), Priyansh Agarwal (4), Iraaj Modi (2), Arushi Jain (3), Rishabh Jain (4), Pratham Agarwal (1.5), Anuyan (3) and Idhika Modi (4).
Scores of people who were heading to attend their morning namaz saw the plumes and attempted to rescue those inside. Ismail Khan, an eyewitness who went in to help those trapped inside the house, described a heartbreaking scene where a mother was found holding her child tightly in an attempt to protect them from the flames and smoke.
The usually bustling streets around Charminar turned grim from the accident, as shocked onlookers gathered in disbelief. Shopkeepers did not open their shops throughout the day, and a cloud of gloom lingered around the historic monument.
The firefighters faced a lot of issues, as the victims were trapped in the second floor of the building, and the building has only one entry point through the commercial shops which were up in flames, blocking the entrance.
Fire tenders from Moghalpura, High Court, Gowliguda, Salarjung Museum, Chandulal Baradari, Rajendranagar, Secretariat and Langer Houz fire stations were dispatched to the accident site.
