Secundrabad: At least eleven people were killed in a massive fire that broke out at a timber godown in Telangana's Secunderabad in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police said that twelve migrant workers from Bihar were sleeping in a room on the first floor of the two-storey building, located in a crowded area of Secunderabad's Bhoiguda, when the fire erupted at around 3 am.
While one worker escaped the fire by jumping out of the room, eleven workers lost their lives. There was only one internal spiral staircase in the building, The workers appeared to have tried to escape but soon fell unconscious after inhaling the thick smoke. officials told NDTV.
It is suspected that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the godown. The matter is being investigated, officials said, adding that the fire has been doused.
Expressing condolences over the incident, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the workers who were killed in the fire. He also directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to make arrangements for the repatriation of their bodies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is "pained by the loss of lives" in the fire tragedy and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the family members of the workers.
"Pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Bhoiguda, Hyderabad. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of the deceased: PM @narendramodi," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted.