Eight people were killed and six others were injured after a fire at an electric bike showroom in Secunderabad engulfed the building housing a lodge where around 30 people were staying. The incident was reported late in the night on Monday, September 12 and the fire gutted a lodge called Ruby Pride located in Monda Market area in Secunderabad. The incident took place at around 9.30 pm. Preliminary reports suggest that fire started from the Ruby Motors showroom which is located in the basement of the building where Ruby Lodge is located, minutes away from the passport office.
The fire quickly spread throughout the building trapping at least 25 people inside and filling the building with smoke. It appears that there was one entrance to the building, located next to the bike showroom, and that was blocked by the fire and smoke. Seeing the fire spread, many jumped out of the window and were injured in the process. The police say that those who were killed suffocated to death due to the fire while many among the six injured were hurt when they jumped out of the building to escape the fire.
At least 8 dead & several injured in a massive fire accident at Ruby Deluxe Hotel in Secunderabad. Visuals show survivors trying to jump off the building as the passersby ask them to wait until the rescue team reaches.@thenewsminute @dramadhikari @dhanyarajendran pic.twitter.com/edoOSAGbgR
— CharanTeja (@CharanT16) September 13, 2022
Two fire engines were rushed to the spot and people were rescued from the windows of the building as the entrance was blocked by the fire. The police have managed to have identified a few of the deceased.
“Eight people have died. Around 22 people were staying at the lodge. The injured have been shifted to different hospitals. Some of the people who tried to escape the fire jumped through the windows and were injured in the process,” North Zone DCP Chandana Deepthi told TNM. Visuals from the spot late at night also show that the smoke had spread onto the road in front of the lodge, affecting visibility.
#SecunderabadFire | It is suspected that the fire started in an electric bike showroom located in the basement. The fire quickly engulfed the building. Visuals from the spot: pic.twitter.com/9JPetpHgQq
— TheNewsMinute (@thenewsminute) September 13, 2022
Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said it was suspected that either an e-bike or a generator placed in the Ruby Motors showroom exploded leading to the fire. “The flames leapt up the staircase and soon engulfed the cellar, ground, first and second floors of the building. More than the fire, it was the smoke that suffocated the tourists,” he added.
The Hyderabad police commissioner has launched an inquiry into the incident. The people who have been killed are mainly tourists, the police said, who had come to Hyderabad for some work and were living in the lodge as it was located close to the railway station in Secunderabad.
The injured people have been shifted to Yashoda Hospitals and Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad, where they are being treated.
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