Massive fire breaks out in Gulzar Houz building

In Gulzar Houz, close to Charminar, a building with both residential and commercial units was completely destroyed by fire, killing at least 17 people, including eight children. This incident is among the worst tragedies to have struck Hyderabad in recent years. Ten injured residents were transferred to the DRDO Hospital, Osmania General Hospital, and a private medical facility. According to initial fire department reports, the fire started at 5:30 am while the majority of the residents were asleep. Smoke quickly spread throughout the building from its origin on the commercial building’s ground floor, killing the people who were inside.

The victims’ compensation was later confirmed by the prime minister’s office. The loss of lives in Hyderabad, Telangana, due to a fire tragedy left Prime Minister Narendra Modi “deeply anguished,” he wrote on X. I hope the injured get better soon. He declared that each injured person would receive Rs 50,000 and the next of kin of each deceased person would receive an ex gratia of two lakh rupees from the PMNRF, the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

According to G Kishan Reddy, the state BJP chief and union minister, the fire started in a family-owned pearl store, with their home on the floor above the store. He verified that a short circuit was the cause of the accident. The accident has claimed many lives. Others have suffered injuries. I’m not pointing fingers, but the police, fire, and electricity departments need to be boosted because Hyderabad is a city that is growing quickly,” he said.

Eleven fire tenders from different stations, including Gandhi Outpost, Salarjung Museum, Rajendra Nagar, Gowliguda, Moghalpura, and Langar Houz, were dispatched by the fire department to extinguish the fire. Three water tenders, a robot, a Bronto Skylift, and two rescue tenders assisted with the rescue operations. While the cause of the fire is being investigated, emergency services are still present on the scene.

Special medical teams have been established at Osmania General Hospital to treat fire accident victims around the clock on the directive of Telangana Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha. The teams are made up of medical professionals from important specialities like general surgery, anaesthesia, and plastic surgery, and they will be on call around-the-clock to handle emergencies.