HYDERABAD: Three men, workers from Bihar, are suspected of having been trapped and killed inside the multi-storey sports store that was devastated by a massive fire that raged over the course of 36 hours in the overcrowded Ramgopalpet area.
The three men from Bihar, who went missing, were identified as Waseem, Junaid, and Zaheer.
“We have sent two drones inside to try to find the three men after learning that they have been reported missing since the fire incident. They have been identified as Waseem, Junaid, and Zaheer from Bihar. But there was so much smoke that we were unable to see anything. Additionally, the surface inside the building is still hot enough to melt the drones. We can only access a specific area of the cellar as of Friday night. We’re going to try to go in from above using a ladder, said C. Venu Gopal Reddy, Saifabad ACP.
The Ramgopalpet police refuted some reports that two bodies were identified. Although they appear to be two human bodies, they are combustible material. No bodies within the structure have been found as of Friday night, claimed the authorities.
The fire that erupted in the Deccan Knitwear and Sportswear store’s building on Thursday morning due to a possible short circuit spread to all the six floors, emitting dense smoke from all sides.
In one of the biggest firefighting operations in Hyderabad’s history, 29 fire vehicles, including Multipurpose Trucks (MPT), fire tenders, and fire bowsers have been working continuously to tame the blaze and smoke at the Deccan Knitwear building since Thursday after a massive fire broke out spreading across and emitting dense smoke in the area.
More than 1,03,000 gallons of water were used in the 36 hours of relentless firefighting to put out the flames. Two drones were flown inside the building to look for the trapped people, but in vain because the building was still spewing thick smoke on Friday night.
The building was surrounded by a dense cloud of smoke, making rescue efforts all but impossible for the firefighters and the police to enter the charred structure.
“We engaged water tankers in the firefighting operations on Thursday. Though the flames were doused by Friday afternoon, the smoke is still emitting from the building. It will still take some more time to bring the situation under control,” said V. Papaiah, regional fire officer.
On Thursday, two firefighters who were putting out the massive blaze received serious injuries. One of the firefighters was taken to a private hospital and undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit.
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