Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], January 25 : Telangana Fire and Disaster Response Director General Vikram Singh Mann on Sunday said all five bodies of those trapped in the Nampally furniture godown fire have been recovered and termed the incident a "clear case of criminal negligence," adding that legal action will be initiated as per the law.
"As we were informed yesterday, five people were trapped. So we have recovered all five bodies. The first body was recovered this morning at around 9:15, and just now, the fifth body has also been recovered. All the bodies have been sent to Osmania Hospital," Mann said.
Explaining the circumstances that led to the tragedy, the DG Mann said the victims were workers who had been provided accommodation in the building's basement. "They were working here and were given accommodation in the basement. So two of them were trying to rescue the others. But unfortunately, they also got trapped. This basement is only meant for parking vehicles," he said.
Mann said the rescue and firefighting operations were delayed as the basement was packed with highly flammable material. "One of the reasons why it took us so much time to clear the area, extinguish the fire and recover the bodies is that this entire basement was filled with all kinds of materials. It was highly flammable. Despite all this, by using maximum resources and equipment, we managed to extinguish the fire and bring these people out," he said.
Calling the incident serious, Mann said, "This is definitely a clear case of negligence. This is actually criminal negligence. And now, as per the law, legal action will be taken."
Meanwhile, Telangana Minister Ponnam Prabhakar expressed shock and grief over the incident and condoled the deaths. He said the matter has been brought to the notice of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and assured support to the affected families.
Prabhakar directed the police to register criminal cases against the shop owner for violating fire safety norms. He also instructed officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), police, revenue department and HYDRA to coordinate and take steps to prevent such incidents in the future. Appealing to the public, the Minister urged citizens to report buildings that do not comply with fire safety regulations.
The fire broke out at a furniture godown on Nampally Station Road on Saturday evening. Firefighting and rescue operations continued through the night, involving teams from various departments. Earlier, one trapped individual was rescued safely.