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HYDERABAD: The death toll in the fire mishap at Secunderabad’s Ruby Pride Luxury Hotel rose to eight on Tuesday.
Police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murderagainst the hotel owners.
“It appears the fire started from the basement where two-wheelers were parked. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined,” North Zone DCP G Chandana Deepthi said.
As the thick plumes of smoke engulfed the ground floor and the above four floors through the staircase opening, several customers in the hotel, especially those who were on the first and second floors, were unable to get out through the corridors as the power supply was disrupted shortly after the fire started.
“Door of the hotel rooms have access control cards. Due to low visibility and thick smoke, some people in rooms couldn’t get out immediately,” the DCP said.
There were 25 occupants in the 28 rooms of the hotel when the fire erupted at around 9.30pm on Monday.
The DCP said that eight people died and nine injured are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
The condition of one of the injured is critical, Chandana Deepthi said.
The remaining hotel customers and staff were either rescued without any injuries or managed to get out of the building without any harm.
Two customers, Man Mohan Khanna and Rajesh Chabra along with four hotel workers managed to reach the adjacent Yatri hotel from the terrace of Ruby Hotel.
On the complaint of Khanna, a case was registered under sections 304 (ii) and 337of the IPC against Rubby hotel and Ruby Gemopai electric scooters owners Sumith Singh, his brothers and manager who are illegally running the electrical scooters business on the hotel premises.
Four of the deceased have been identified. They were A Harish, 33, from Vijayawada, Veerender Kumar Devakar, 50, of Delhi, Seetha Raman, 48, of Chennai and Balaji, 58, of Chennai. The identity of four other deceased, including a woman, is yet to be identified.
Home minister Mahmood Ali who visited the spot on Tuesday said the state government had announced Rs 3 lakh ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and the government would also bear the expenses for the transportation of the bodies to their native places.
“The owners of the establishment were using the cellar for business purposes instead of using it for parking. We have booked a case against them. I appeal to businessmen not to use parking spaces for commercial purposes,” the Home minister said.
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