Five Bodies Found in Nampally Fire Accident

Hyderabad: Five people, including two children, were killed after a massive fire broke out in the cellar of a furniture shop on Nampally Station Road in Hyderabad on Saturday, triggering prolonged rescue operations by multiple emergency agencies.

The tragic incident occurred at Batcha’s Furniture shop located in Sai Vishwas Chambers, a five-storey building adjacent to the Hindi Prachar Sabha building. Officials said a large consignment of furniture imported from China had arrived on Friday night and was stored in two cellars of the building.

The shop employs around 22 workers. The watchman, Yadiah, and his wife Lakshmi were living in the cellar along with their two children, Praneeth (11) and Akhil (7). On Saturday, the children stayed back in the cellar while their parents went out for work.

At around 1 pm, a fire broke out in the two cellars, filling the premises with thick smoke. Staff members who noticed the smoke managed to rush out of the building. Two employees — Mohammed Imtiaz (27) of Subhanura and Syed Habeeb (40) from Shastripuram — entered the cellar in an attempt to rescue the trapped children and an elderly woman, Bibi (55). However, they failed to come out.

Rescue operations were launched by multiple agencies, including the fire department, police, HYDRA and other emergency services. Dense smoke severely hampered rescue efforts, which continued through the night and into Sunday morning.

To access the cellar, officials used a JCB to create an opening in the building. The bodies of Praneeth, Akhil, Bibi, Mohammed Imtiaz and Syed Habeeb were recovered and shifted to the mortuary at Osmania General Hospital.

Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh and Khairatabad DCP Shilpavalli visited the site and reviewed the rescue operations. Police have registered a case and are investigating the cause of the fire.