Hyderabad: Migrant workers had come in January

Hyderabad: The six migrant workers who died in the fire in Attapur were temporary workers from Palamu district of Jharkhand. They came to Hyderabad in the first week of January to work in the cooler assembling unit. They were made to sleep inside a temporary shed which had no ventilation and had flammable material stocked inside.

Four of the victims worked at the warehouse, and two others worked nearby. They latter two had come to visit their friends and unfortunately stayed back at night. Javed Ansari, a friend of the victims, said that they had been coming to Hyderabad for the last five years in the summer season.

"They worked for this same employer last year in summer.  In January this year, the employer called them again to work for him. They were contracted to work till June," said Javed.

Friends of the victims, who work in similar units in the city's outskirts, said that they were paid a meagre daily wage. "The employer pays Rs 40 for assembling one cooler. A person works for 12 to 14 hours a day and assembles six or more coolers," Javed said. The victims’ families have been informed of the tragedy by the police and the bodies will be sent to Jharkhand on Thursday.