Hyderabad: A purported phone conversation of a man who died in the recent fire at the Batcha furniture showroom, pleading for help as the blaze broke out, surfaced on Friday, January 30.
In the audio, Imtiyaz, 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 Imtiyaz 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, Imtiyaz said he could not find a way out. The sounds of children gasping for breath can also be heard in the recording.
When contacted by PTI, a police official said the audio had come to their notice, but its authenticity needs to be verified.
Five killed in Nampally fire
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.
The victims have been identified as 28-year-old Mohammed Imtiyaz, 30-year-old goods autodriver, Mohammed Habeebuddin Quadri, a 60-year-old sweeper woman, Bebi and two children – Akhil and Pranith, aged seven and eleven respectively.
Imitiyaz had married three years ago. He lived in the Subhanpura locality in Aghapura with his wife and two daughters.
Imtiyaz had gone into the burning building and saved three people. He later found out that people were still trapped in the second cellar and rushed to their rescue. He unfortunately did not make it back.
The bodies of the victims were brought out after nearly 21 hours as thick smoke made rescue operations difficult.
It is suspected that the fire started either by a short circuit or a cigarette. However, Telangana Fire and Disaster Response Director General Vikram Singh Mann flagged the illegal storage of furniture in the cellar that caused the fire intensify.
He also said that families had been provided accommodation in the cellars, which were meant only for parking.
The owner of the shop, Satish Batcha, was arrested on January 25.
Following the tragic incident, Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has initiated a city-wide crackdown on buildings violating fire safety norms.
Their inspections have so far led to the sealing of eight shops in different parts of the city.
(With inputs from PTI.)
