A representative image.
Credit: iStock Photo
Hyderabad: A purported phone conversation of a man who died in the recent fire at a furniture showroom here, pleading for help as the blaze broke out, surfaced on Friday.
In the audio, Imtiaz, a driver associated with the showroom, was heard telling someone outside that he was unable to escape the fire.
"All three of us, including two children, will die. There is no exit here," a distressed Imtiaz said, seeking rescue.
On the day of the fire, Imtiaz and others were trapped in one of the cellars of the building as the flames raged.
While the person on the other end advised him to move to the second cellar to escape, Imtiaz said he could not find a way out. The sounds of children gasping for breath can also be heard in the recording.
When contacted, a police official said the audio had come to their notice, but its authenticity needs to be verified.
Five people, including two children and an elderly woman, died of "asphyxiation" after a fire broke out on January 24 in the four-storey building housing a furniture shop at Nampally.
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency said in a post on 'X' that fire safety inspections continued for a second day, leading to the sealing of six furniture shops across the city by HYDRAA, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the fire department, and other authorities for safety violations.