Hyderabad National International Specials General

Major fire breaks out at Numaish

Thu 31 Jan 2019, 10:18:41

A major fire broke out late on Wednesday at the ongoing Numaish at the Exhibition Grounds in Nampally.

Even as firefighters were battling the flames with more than 10 fire engines positioned on the spot, at least seven people were rushed to the Osmania General Hospital after they complained of suffocation. Two persons were shifted to Care Hospital in Nampally. Their condition was later stated to be stable.

No casualties were reported when reports last came in, though there was widespread panic on the spot, with visitors who were thronging the venue running to safer areas. Tension prevailed in the area as police began evacuating all the stalls and the entire crowd in the area.

Fire Services officials, who said the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, said fire tenders from all nearest fire stations were deployed to carry out the firefighting operations. Water tankers of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board too were brought in to supply water to douse the

flames.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation also pressed into service its Disaster Response Force teams to the spot. Over 10 stalls were believed to have been gutted.

Top officials including Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and others were on the spot supervising the firefighting operation.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited managing director NVS Reddy announced that the Metro would offer free transport to people from Nampally since the roads were blocked.

According to eye witness accounts, shop keepers and traffic authorities who were working at Numaish, the fire reportedly originated from a spark in a bank ATM located near the VIP gate of the Exhibition Grounds.

A series of ATM machines belonging to a clutch of banks were set up at the VIP entrance of the Exhibition Grounds. According to shop owners, a water purifier company had set up a stall nearby and many volunteers collected water from this stall and tried to douse the fire.

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