Bengaluru fire accident: Six labourers succumb to injuries

Bengaluru: Six labourers, who were grievously injured, following a fire accident in Bengaluru South district, have succumbed at the hospital, police officials said on Saturday.

The deceased are Manarul Sheikh (40); Tajabul Sheikh (26); Jahed Ali (32); Hasan Malik (42); Jiyabur Sheikh (40); and Shafijul Sheikh (36). Their companion, Noor Jamal (21), remains critical, officials said.

According to the police, the labourers were engaged in a construction project at Bhimeenahalli in Bidadi. They lived in a 30-square-foot shed at the site.

Investigation found that on October 6, at around 2.30 am, the fire broke out while they were asleep in the shed. A security guard noticed it and alerted the site-in-charge, who subsequently shifted the injured to the Victoria Hospital. There, the victims succumbed one by one.

Preliminary probe revealed that the victims had an LPG cylinder and had forgotten to switch it off before sleeping. One of them had gotten up to light a beedi, which lit the fire as the gas had leaked.

The police have registered the case against the contractor and mason Hasan Malik, the site engineers and the landowner, and launched a probe.