The victims were initially taken to Osmania General Hospital, with family members and relatives hoping they were still alive. In desperation, they rushed them to multiple private hospitals.
HYDERABAD: A family with two daughters who had gone to their paternal home for the summer vacation tragically lost their lives in the fire accident at Gulzar Houz. A joyful reunion turned into heartbreak in the early hours of Sunday.
The victims were initially taken to Osmania General Hospital, with family members and relatives hoping they were still alive. In desperation, they rushed them to multiple private hospitals.
However, doctors confirmed that they were brought dead. After completing the formalities, the deceased were shifted to the Osmania General Hospital mortuary for postmortem.
The incident shocked the relatives and friends of the victims’ families, who rushed to both the hospitals and the victims’ residence. Relatives alleged that the delayed response by the fire department, lack of oxygen masks, and inadequate water supply in the fire vehicles contributed to the tragedy.
Prahlad Modi, who was also taken to Osmania General Hospital, was declared brought dead. A family member said, “He was already old, and half of his body was burnt. We were in shock and didn’t know what to say in such a tragic moment.”
“Just two days before the incident, the daughters had arrived with their children to stay at their parents’ home. We have no idea what exactly happened in the early hours. After reaching the residence, we were informed by locals that they had died due to suffocation from the smoke,” said Atul Agarwal, a relative of the victims.
“The family has been running a jewellery shop on the ground floor of the building for over 125 years. The Modi family has five brothers — three live in different parts of the city, while Prahlad and Rajendra Modi lived together in the same house,” said Rohith Modi, another relative.
“We were told that the workers sleeping on the terrace woke up and managed to escape. Pankaj and Sheetal were the first to come out and tried to save the others, but they got trapped inside,” he added.
“The fire department’s response was very poor. They didn’t even have a drill machine to break through the walls,” said Satyanarayana Agarwal, a friend of Rajendra Modi. “I rushed to the spot around 7 am after receiving a call from a friend about the fire mishap, which was reportedly caused by a short circuit.”
