HYDERABAD: Nearly 76 hours after a massive fire scorched the unauthorised six-storey building at Ramgopalpet in Secunderabad, firefighters are still battling the dense smoke coming from the basement, and rescuers are searching for four workers who are feared to be dead.
Family members of those who believed to have died in the blaze blamed the government for the catastrophe and said they would not leave the city until they received the bodies.
The dense smoke made it all but impossible for fire fighters and rescuers to enter the structure. The rescue team, comprising 35 persons from the DRF, 25 firefighters and five from the Clues team, hsa been engaged in the operation since January 19 when the fire broke out.
Despite fire fighters continuously pouring water, the synthetic material, rubber and cloth kept in the two levels of the basement continue to burn. Fire fighters had no access to the corners. “Our pipes will be gutted within minutes due to the heat and the large quantities of burning synthetic material,” a station fire official (SFO) said.
The building’s structural stability was another concern. “Four concrete slabs have collapsed. We have urged officials to demolish the structure as there is no other option. Moreover, there is a threat to the other 22 houses in Kachi Basti, adjoining the fire-hit building,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the parents of Mohammed Waseem, Saheer and Junaid, who have gone missing, arrived in the city and are waiting for the news of their children.
“We will not leave unless we take the bodies of Zaheer and Junaid,” Panja Gulam, Waseem’s father said, believing that the trio was dead. The officials on Saturday refused to collect DNA samples of my wife and sent her back. The government is responsible for the incident, Gulam said.
According to reliable sources Waseem, Zaheer and Javed worked in a sports shop at MG Road, owned by Mohammed Javed. On the day the fire broke out, they were asked to work in the Ramgopalpet shop due to shortage of staff there. A severely burnt skeleton recovered on Sunday was handed over to the Clues team. The family members of the suspected victims will undergo DNA sampling test on Monday to establish their identity, Ramgopalpet inspector G. Lingeshwar said.
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