11 migrant workers lose life in scrap godown fire in Hyderabad

It was a tragedy waiting to happen at the ill-fated scrap godown in Hyderabad's Bhoiguda as 12 migrant workers from Bihar were staying in a single room above the godown that had a sole access point.

A spiral staircase in the godown was the only way to enter and exit from the room and a kitchen attached to it.

Making matters worse for the hapless workers, the shutters of the godown (on the ground floor) remained closed when the deadly fire mishap happened in the early hours of Wednesday.

Unsurprisingly, they could not come out and save their lives though one of the 12 people managed to escape by jumping out of the window. It was a heart-wrenching scene as bodies, charred beyond recognition, were found in a heap as they apparently collapsed upon inhaling the smoke, a fire official said.

Eleven among the 12 workers perished in the fire the exact cause of it would be known after an investigation, the officials said. Burnt scrap material, including old papers, empty liquor bottles and fiber cable wires, were found scattered at the scene. The godown owner has provided accommodation to them in the room upstairs, but no one was, actually, supposed to stay there, a police official said. The 12 workers, aged between 22 and 35 years, were sleeping in the room when the tragedy struck.

The fire appeared to have broken out in the godown and soon spread to the room above, the police official said.

The site of the fire tragedy was sealed and cordoned off as authorities removed the burnt scrap material from the godown. The migrant workers, who came to the city to eke out a living, hailed from different villages of Bihar's Chhapra and Katihar districts. Some of them were working at the scrap godown for the past two years, while others had joined recently.