Hyderabad, India
AP
–
At least 17 people have been killed and several injured in a fire that broke out in a building near the historic Charminar Memorial in Hyderabad, southern India, officials said.
According to local media, several people were unconsciously discovered and rushed to various hospitals. They said the building has a jewelry store on the ground level and at the residential space above.
“An accident occurred due to a short circuit, and many people died,” Union Minister and leader of Bharatiya Janata Party, G. Kishan Reddy, told reporters at the scene of the accident.
Telangana Fire Services Director Y Nagi Reddy told reporters that 21 people were in the three-storey building when the fire began on the first floor early Sunday.
“The 17 people who moved to the hospital in an unconscious state did not survive. The stairs were very narrow and it made it difficult to escape. There was only one exit and the fire blocked it,” he said.
The fire was controlled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced financial compensation for the victims’ families, saying in a post on X that he is “deeply suffering from the loss of life.”
Fires are common in India, and building laws and safety norms are often neglected by builders and residents.
