Hyderabad, May 18 (IANS) At least eight people were killed and some others injured in a huge fire that broke out in a building in the old city of Hyderabad on Sunday.

The incident occurred at Gulzar Houz near the historic Charminar. The dead include two children and four women.

The firefighters rescued some people trapped in the ground+1 building located in a congested lane in the commercial area.

Some people fell unconscious due to the thick smoke that enveloped the premises. There were about 30 people belonging to the family of a pearl trader and his employees.

The pearl trader’s shop, Modi Pearls, was on the ground floor, while his family and the families of some workers lived on the first floor.

Eight fire engines were pressed into service to douse the fire. Senior police officials rushed to the spot.

The deceased have been identified as Rajendra Kumar (67), Sumitra (65), Munni Bai (72), Abhishek Modi (30), Arushi Jain (17), Sheetal Jain (37), Arashadi (7) and Iraj (2).

Injured have been admitted to Osmania, Yashoda Malakpet, Apollo DRDO and Apollo Hyderguda hospitals.

Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, who visited the spot, told media persons that the fire broke out around 6 a.m. in the building above a pearl shop.

He said there was some delay in providing relief by the fire services department.

He said that the preliminary inquiry shows a short circuit led to the mishap. He said he would request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce financial assistance to the affected families.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has expressed shock over the fire accident. He directed officials to take all steps to rescue the people trapped in the fire.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the Chief Minister was in touch with police and fire services department officials.

He directed the officials to provide the best possible treatment to the injured.

Charminar MLA Mir Zulfiqar Ali visited the accident site and spoke to officials.

The incident occurred two days after a fire in a multistorey building in Siddi Amber Bazar. The firefighters had rescued about 10 people in this accident.

Kishan Reddy called for steps to prevent such incidents. He said there should be regular monitoring by police, fire services, GHMC and electricity departments.

–IANS

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