Bangalore:
Nine people dead, 59 injured. Twenty two people are still in hospital - 14 in the ICU, 13 of them on ventilator. Of these 13, three are critical.
A day after the Carlton Towers fire, Bangalore is picking up the pieces and asking an important question: Did lapses lead to deaths? Fire officials have denied any lapse, but a number of witnesses say they saw firefighters asking people on the top floors to jump, and that when they did, the safety net spread below couldn't take their landing. (
Read: Bangalore fire doused, 9 dead, 59 injured)
"The public and the fire personnel told them to jump...but when they did, they could not hold on to them ..." said a witness, Mohammed Riyaz.
But Jija Harisingh, Head of Emergency Services said: "I don't think that could have happened ..it is not the drill ...but we will investigate ..."(
Watch: Firefighters asked people to jump, says witness)
Blame games over lapses in rescue operations have begun. "Rescue operations became difficult because the building norms were not followed. We could have saved many lives had the norms been followed," said P S Sandhu, Inspector General of Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
Bharat Lal Meena, the BBMP Commissioner said last night: "We will investigate the building ..." A BBMP team is at the spot this morning to look into whether the building had followed fire safety norms. The BBMP is responsible for giving clearances for buildings - and a clearance certificate is needed from the point of view of fire safety.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for each of the dead, Rs 50,000 each for the injured and medical treatment.