Massive fire breaks out in Swapna Lok complex in Secunderabad

SECUNDERABAD: Massive fire broke out in the popular shopping complex Swapna Lok in Secunderabad on Thursday evening. The fire, which is believed to have raged in the sixth floor of the complex, erupted at around 7:45 pm. As of 10:30 pm, a total of 12 persons, including a few women, were rescued from the building.

While seven of the people trapped inside the building were brought to safety within a couple of hours of the incident, the fire-fighting personnel had to battle hard with the massive fire to reach the fourth floor of the building in their rescue mission for the other five persons. All the five, who were brought out of the building at around 10:30 pm, were in an unconscious state. After performing emergency CPR at the waiting ambulances, the five persons were rushed to nearby hospitals. Their condition was not immediately known.

An electric short circuit is suspected to have triggered the fire at around 7:45 pm. There was no clarity on where exactly the fire broke out. While a survivor said that the fire started in an e-commerce office, Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi later said that the fire erupted near the lift on the sixth floor and spread to other parts of the building. A person trapped on the fourth floor was seen frantically flashing his mobile phone torch light in his desperation to be rescued from the building. Rescue teams were also worried about the danger of asphyxiation that thick smoke can cause to those trapped inside in fire accidents.

The building, more than 30 years old, houses a large number of garments shops, godowns, other business establishments besides offices of private companies in its upper floors. The heavy smoke billowing out of the building is reportedly hampering the work of the fire department personnel in bringing the fire under control. At least four fire tenders have been pressed into service to battle the massive fire.

Some reports claimed that a few offices were functioning with a part of their workforce at the time the fire broke out in the building.

One of the survivors said that three of them were rescued by the fire-fighting personnel after they found the exit from their office bathroom. He said that still a few more of his colleagues were trapped inside.

According to him, the fire broke out in an e-commerce office on the fourth floor before rapidly spreading to other floors.

Even as the confusion prevailed on the number of people feared trapped inside the fire-ravaged building, Minister for Animal Husbandry Talasani Srinivas Yadav, after his arrival at the spot, told the media that the fire-fighting personnel had rescued seven persons from the building.

Swapna Lok complex, a famous landmark in the Secunderabad area, was built in 1988-89 and has since become a popular and budget-friendly destination for the middle class consumers to buy garments, leather goods including footwear and other items. It housed a large number of shops besides godowns in the first few floors while the upper floors featured offices of commercial establishments and private companies.

In fact, this is the second major fire mishap that took place in Swapna Lok complex. A few decades ago, popular pub 10 Downing Street, located in the building then, was completely gutted following a massive fire.