8 killed as fire engulfs hotel in Secunderabad

HYDERABAD: At least eight people, including a woman, died of burns after a fire broke out at a multi-storied building on St Mary's Road near Manohar Theatre in Secunderabad on Monday night.
Many trapped in the hotel atop the building tried to wriggle out of the inferno by leaping out of high windows or scaling down drainage pipes, but suffered injuries.
The blaze reportedly emanated from an electric two-wheeler showroom in the building's cellar and ground floor and the flames swiftly leapt to the upper floors, where Ruby Luxury Hotel is located.
It's feared nearly 20-25 people could have been stranded in the lodge at the time of the tragedy.
Fire department officials said electric vehicle batteries of the bike showroom were stashed in the cellar and these suddenly blew up, triggering the blaze.
Flames leapt from the first to the fourth floor of the commercial building even as firemen managed to rescue nine customers screaming for help from windows.
The fire department got the distress call around 9.30pm. Initially, two fire tenders reached the spot and were joined by four more as the personnel battled on for two hours. Rescue operations were hampered by the dense smoke engulfing the building.
Officials suspect some hotel customers might have lost consciousness in their rooms, which were access controlled.
Fire department personnel used a snorkel to enter the top floors and, in coordination with cops, a rescue operation was launched from the top floor "It is a 25-member occupancy lodge. Eleven persons were sent to Gandhi hospital and Yashoda Hospital.
"Some people jumped off the building," minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, who reached the spot, told media personnel. Due to battery blasts, loud noises were heard in the locality near Clock Tower.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences and said that he was sadden by the loss of lives in the fire incident.