Hyderabad, March 17 (IANS) Six people were killed in a huge fire that broke out in a multi-storey building in Secunderabad here on Thursday night, officials said.
The deceased include four women. Seven others were rescued by fire service personnel.
Hyderabad District Collector Amoy Kumar said the victims died of suffocation due to the smoke.
The deceased, all stated to be in their 20s, succumbed at Gandhi Hospital. They hailed from Warangal, Mahabubabad, and Khammam districts and were said to be employees of a company operating out of the building.
After battling for four hours, fire fighting personnel controlled the fire which started from the third floor of Swapnalok Complex and spread to the upper floors of the eight-storey building, which houses offices.
Officials said the rescue work was still on as the smoke has not yet cleared.
Ten fire tenders rushed to the scene and were engaged in the fire-fighting operation.
Huge flames leaping out of the building, causing panic among people in the area. Police vacated residents staying in adjoining buildings.
According to locals, the fire broke out between 7.30 and 8 p.m. The cause of the fire was not known.
State minister T. Srinivas Yadav rushed to the spot and was monitoring rescue and relief work.
This is the second major fire accident in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad, in less than two months.
Three persons were killed in a huge fire at a multi-storey commercial complex on January 28. The building was completely gutted in the fire and it was later demolished by the authorities as the structure had become weak.
During investigation, it was found that Swapna is a school dropout but managed to get a degree certificate from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University. Based on the fake certificate and influence of high ranking officials like Sivasankar, she secured a plush job in the IT department which was headed by Vijayan.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asked Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) Pankaj Kumar to enhance vigil at the borders of the state for checking smuggling of drugs and weapons from across the border. The Director General had called on the Chief Minister here on July 31.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sukhchain Singh Gill, while addressing his weekly press conference here, said they have recovered 11.73 kg heroin, 20 kg opium, 9 kg ganja, 5.76 quintals of poppy husk, and 28,000 tablets of Pharma opioids, besides recovering Rs 20 lakh drug money after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas.
Addressing a gathering here while handing over appointment letters to the newly recruited 4,358 constables in Punjab Police, the Chief Minister said the state government has conducted the entire recruitment process in a transparent and fair manner.
Amid heightened security to enter Delhi, traffic snarls were reported at the Ghaziabad, Chilla, Singhu, Faridabad and Tikri borders. Delhi Police have put barricades at all these border points and every vehicle entering the national capital city are being checked.
The accident took place late on Sunday night when Adil, 25, his pregnant wife Asma, 24, Mashkoor, 26, his wife Rukhsar, 27, Rihanna, 38, and Sultana, 35, were returning home in Mirzapur village. The van was completely damaged in the collision.
