11 workers killed in fire at scrap godown in Telangana's Secunderabad

Most of these victims, who were burnt beyond recognition, were migrants from Bihar

Eleven workers were charred to death in a fire that broke out in a scrap godown in Secunderabad in the wee hours of Wednesday.

The victims, whose bodies are burnt beyond recognition, are migrants from Bihar. One worker managed to escape from the fire, and is under treatment at a hospital.

The 12 men were working in the warehouse that processes old newspapers, used bottles, etc. and were accommodated in a room built one floor above. A spiral staircase reportedly connected the two floors. All the men were in deep sleep when the incident occurred at about 4 am. All the deceased were in the 20-40 years age group.

Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the blaze was extinguished after about three hours.

The warehouse is located in the Bhoiguda area, with several other scrap shops, houses located in the surroundings. The unit is said to be operating without basic fire and other safety precautions.

A probe has been initiated to know the cause of the fire.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock over the deaths. The state government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for each of the victim families.

The Chief Minister has instructed chief secretary Somesh Kumar to make arrangements to shift the bodies to their respective villages in Bihar. The bodies were shifted to the nearby state-run Gandhi Hospital for postmortem. DNA analysis would be carried out to establish the identity of the bodies.

Kumar who visited the accident spot and the hospital said that the government would initiate steps to avoid such incidents in the future.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was “pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Bhoiguda, Hyderabad.” The PM announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the PM's National Relief Fund to the next of kin of the deceased.

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