HYDERABAD, India: At least five people, including two children and an elderly woman, were killed after a fire broke out at a four-storey furniture store in Hyderabad, officials said.
The fire erupted at the weekend in the Nampally area of the city, the capital of Telangana, trapping several people in the building’s basement and prompting emergency rescue operations.
“Five bodies, including two boys and an elderly woman, were recovered from the cellar of the building on Sunday,” a senior police official told Press Trust of India.
Vikram Singh Mann, director general of the Telangana Fire Disaster Response and Emergency Services, said the shop owner would be charged with criminal negligence in connection with the incident. Authorities said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Deadly building fires are common in India, often linked to poor enforcement of safety regulations, overcrowded commercial structures, and the absence of basic fire-prevention measures such as functional extinguishers, emergency exits, and fire alarms. Experts say illegal modifications, blocked stairways, and the use of basements for storage or residence—frequently in violation of building codes—continue to put lives at risk, particularly in densely populated urban areas.
