Finnish man loses passport

A day after, Carlton Towers wears an empty look

“I was scheduled to fly out, but have lost everything. I don’t know how I will go back. I have no passport and no money,” he added, while recounting how his personal belongings went missing in the ensuing melee after the blaze. Standing outside the locked gates a day after the tragic accident, he was seen pleading with the security guards to give him a chance to search for his belongings.

Another colleague narrated that her mobile, laptop and purse— all left at the office table on hearing the chaos outside, had disappeared within 20 minutes. “We suspect our money, pan card and debit cards have been stolen,” she said, lamenting that even a fire had not deterred some from taking advantage of the situation.

Empty look

Carlton Towers, which is usually abuzz with activity, with sounds of computer typing and people zooming in and out of lifts, wore an empty look on Wednesday as all commercial activity came to a standstill, even as forensic experts, police and fire brigade personnel took charge.

A board that announces ‘To Let’ has its shutter downed, with its owner sceptical whether he would get anyone to rent out the room. “I came here all the way from Cochin when I heard about the blaze. I have a small office here which I had planned to let out,” he said with a shrug.

A high-end restaurant, usually teeming with customers, had a different story to tell — wooden chairs piled one over the other on a table, narrating how some do-gooders below had created a safety ladder using the chairs to help those on the first floor climb down.

At one end the purple hued shade of the restaurant, which often dimmed the harsh sunlight, lay broken, letting in the hot afternoon sun. The shade, says the lone security man deployed to guard the restaurant, was broken when those on the upper floors tried to climb down.

Good samaritan

Crowds gathered outside the locked gate on Wednesday to have a glimpse of the building, included a good samaritan from a nearby construction firm who had lent a 30 feet ladder to help inmates escape.

“As soon as I saw the blaze, I rushed here with my ladder. It reached the second floor and helped many escape. I am happy I could save people,” he says.

However, the downside was that when he turned to get his ladder back on Wednesday, he was prevented by police from touching any objects on the spot. “My business has been interrupted because I need the ladder to continue work,” he says.