Hyderabad: It was thanks to the presence of mind of the alert locals and their spontaneous rescue operations that saved the lives of 11 persons trapped in the G+3 building at Venkateswara Nagar, Jiyaguda where a massive fire claimed three lives on Wednesday morning.
Around 16 workers of the furniture unit housed in the premises were trapped in the corridor of the second floor. At that time, 21 persons were in the building, comprising six apartments.
The locals did not even wait for the arrival of fire fighters and DRF teams. Risking their life, they gained access to the second floor from the terrace of the next building using five knotted saris and a ladder.
Two workers Soufal and Hassan, who jumped from the second floor, sustained fractures while 10 persons managed to escape with minor burn injuries from the building’s rear entrance.
According to the locals, the fire, caused by short-circuit, engulfed the entire building within 20 minutes, including the godown on the terrace.
“We heard cries of “bachao bachao’. We were shocked and confused,” said Srinivas Bhagesh, owner of the building situated behind the fire-hit building.
“Jetten Singh, Mohammed Anwar, Ravi Singh, Koteshwar Rao, Hassan Ali, Argun Singh, Sanjay Singh, Raj Kumar and other locals gathered at the terrace of my building and went about the rescue operation,” Bhagesh said.
“We rushed Shiva Priya, Harani, Nagamani and Srinivas to Olive hospital. Subsequently, they were shifted to the OGH burns ward,” said Sanjay, one of the rescuers.
In an unfortunate development, Srinivas and his two daughters succumbed within hours while the condition of his wife Nagamani remains critical.
