The ground, first, second and third floors of the building housed Swami Collections, a garment showroom, while Mrutyunjaya Hiremath, 35, the son of the showroom’s owner Danayya Hiremath stayed on the fourth floor.
Five persons were burnt alive in a fire that engulfed a five-storey building in Karani Galli of Athani town in Belgaum district on Wednesday morning.
The ground, first, second and third floors of the building housed Swami Collections, a garment showroom, while Mrutyunjaya Hiremath, 35, the son of the showroom’s owner Danayya Hiremath stayed on the fourth floor.
Three employees Girish Nirvanimath, 26, Ajit, 28 and Chennabasavaiah, 30, were asleep on the ground floor, while Mrutyunjaya and his wife were in the top floor residence. The fire was noticed in the wee hours of Wednesday at 4 am and
Mrutyunjaya called his father from his mobile informing him of a blaze having broken out in the ground floor. Danayya reached the building within minutes but by then his son’s mobile had been switched off and the building was up in flames. Mrutyunjaya also called at least 20 of his friends and alerted them about the blaze.
The clothes piled up in the building and two LPG cylinders and 200 litres of petrol stocked for the generator in the ground floor, fuelled the blaze. Five fire tenders were rushed to the spot from fire stations in Chikkodi, Jamkhandi and Athani, besides two sugar factories in the vicinity.
The firemen battled the blaze for 10 hours till 2 pm. By the time the fire was doused, the bodies of the three employees, Mrutyunjaya and his wife had been charred beyond recognition. Another showroom of the Swami Collections was slated for inauguration on Thursday. ADGP Roopak Kumar Dutta and Belgaum SP Sandeep Patil visited the ill-fated building.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}