Mir Zahid and Mohammad Azmath tried to rescue 13 people from a devastating fire that broke out near Charminar, a historic landmark in Hyderabad. The Fire has claimed 17 other lives, including eight children, while several others were trapped inside the building
The Gulzar building near the Charminar in Hyderabad caught fire early on Sunday morning, injuring several people and claiming 17 lives. The building has a ground floor and two other floors, and 17 people on the first floor were critically injured. They were immediately transported to the nearby hospitals by the Telangana Disaster Response Team. However, all 17 succumbed later.
Mir Zahid and Mohammad Azmath, putting their lives at risk, rushed into the building and rescued 13 others, including women and children, after two women from inside the building shouted, “Bhaiyya Bachao, hamara family ko” (Brother, save our families). The duo asked for the way inside, forced open the shutters and entered the building.
“While we were returning from offering prayers, we heard two women shouting for help. When we went inside, the room was fuming with fire, and the AC had exploded. We also found seven people, including 4 children, dead in one room. We used blankets to shield and rescued others.” Zahid recollected the incident.
“The fumes were all rising and filled the room; there was another wall, obstructing. Five of us were able to break into the rooms. We waited for almost an hour. By that time, the rescue team had reached. We continued the rescue till around 9 am. We could save 7 from the upper and 6 from the first floor.”
Gulzar House is a commercial Hub, with shops on the ground floor and residential homes on the other floors. Preliminary reports suggest that the cause of the fire is a short circuit. Telangana Fire Disaster Response Team, with 17 officers and 70 personnel, received an emergency call around 6:20 a.m., and search and rescue operations extended for two hours.
