A devastating fire in a historic building near Charminar claimed 17 lives, including eight children, on Sunday, with a narrow, tunnel-like entrance and a single staircase proving fatal for the victims.

The blaze, suspected to be caused by a short circuit in a decades-old three-story structure in Gulzar House, trapped a family running one of Hyderabad’s oldest jewellery shops, leaving only two survivors.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, expressing grief, noted the family’s 125-year residency in the building. “Most deaths were due to asphyxiation and fumes,” he said, awaiting the official report.

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Telangana Fire Services DG Y Nagi Reddy explained that the fire, starting at 6:10 AM, engulfed the two-meter-wide entrance, blocking the sole one-meter-wide staircase. “The occupants, asleep when the fire broke out, had no escape,” he said, adding that 11 fire tenders took two hours to control the blaze.

Rescue teams, using oxygen masks, saved four people from the second floor with ladders, but the lack of alternate exits and windows prevented further rescues. Eyewitness Zahid, a local bangle trader, described breaking a shutter and wall to enter but failing to save 13 victims found in two rooms due to intense flames. “I saw a woman clutching lifeless children,” he recounted.

The fire department highlighted that smoke and heat rapidly spread to upper floors, with no ventilation or hydraulic platform access.

At Osmania Hospital’s mortuary, grieving relatives mourned as bodies arrived for autopsy. The tragedy underscores the dangers of outdated buildings in Hyderabad’s densely packed old city, raising urgent questions about fire safety compliance.

Also Read: Massive Fire in Charminar Area! Eight Dead