Hyderabad: Five people, including a woman, died after a fire broke out in a four-storey furniture shop building in Nampally, officials said on Sunday.
The blaze erupted on Saturday, prompting rescue operations to save five individuals trapped in the basement of the building, authorities said.
"Five bodies, including that of a woman, were retrieved from the building on Sunday," a senior police official told PTI.
Rescue operations involved multiple agencies, including the police, fire department, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA). Although the fire was eventually brought under control, thick smoke from the building hampered the efforts.
Those trapped were family members of a security guard and other workers. The basement had been used to accommodate the workers.
Expressing shock over the incident, Transport and Hyderabad District in-charge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the government would support the victims’ families. He also directed police to file criminal cases against the shop owner for failing to adhere to fire safety regulations.
With PTI inputs