'No calls for help': Locals recall horror as 17 die in Hyderabad blaze

“It was so ominous that there were no calls for help. Everyone inside was silent,” said Zubhan, a retailer in Hyderabad’s Charminar area, after 17 members of a family died in a fire at a residential building.

In the early hours of Sunday, May 18, a fire engulfed the three-storey building in the Gulzar Houz area, killing the family members—including eight children.

Another local, Zahid, said he and his friends were alerted by a woman about the fire. Though they rushed to help, the flames were too strong.

“As the main door of the building was engulfed in flames, we broke the shutter and also a wall and went inside. As the blaze was high, we went to the first floor. We found seven people in one room and six others in another room. We were not able to save them due to the fire. Had we saved them, it would have been good," Zahid told news agency PTI.

Zubhan added, “The fire tenders were shouting that there were bodies in each of the rooms above. In one room, there was a mother and two children who had been trapped.”

First fire call and rescue delays

According to a report in the The Indian Express, Fire Safety Director General Y Nagi Reddy said the first emergency call came at 6:16 am, and a fire engine was dispatched by 6:17 am.

However, residents claim the fire had already been raging well before that. “In the morning, we woke up to the smell of smoke emanating from the building,” said another local, Zaman. “The fire engines were already at the spot and we could see that the blaze was raging on the first floor.”

A senior rescue official told The Indian Express that the initial fire team could not manage the blaze alone, prompting additional units to be deployed.

Rescue slowed by poor access, no fire exits

The building had only a single staircase that was just one metre wide. It was filled with smoke, and no alternate exit was available.

“The ground floor’s entrance was completely blocked by bikes parked there. Fuel from these bikes, too, added to the fire,” said Fire Safety DG Reddy.

Firefighters deployed an Advanced Fire Robot and Skylift hydraulic platform to douse the flames.

According to preliminary findings, the fire likely started on the ground floor, which housed a jewellery store closed for the night. Fire officials suspect a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.