Nine dead, 50 injured in Karnataka’s worst fire in decade (Second Lead)

BANGALORE - In the worst fire disaster in over a decade in Karnataka, nine people died, several of them trying to jump to safety, and around 60 were injured after a blaze broke out in a seven-storey office and commercial complex in Bangalore Tuesday.

Of the dead, six are men and three women. Seven of the nine were brought dead to Manipal Hospital, less than five km from the seven-storey Carlton Towers on the busy old Airport Road in Bangalore central business district, a hospital spokesperson said.

Of the 59 admitted to the Manipal Hospital, 19 were in Intensive Care Unit but recovering, the spokesperson said. Most of the injuries were fractures, cuts and superficial burns, he said.

“Several major fire incidents have taken place in the state but in terms of casualties, this is the worst in over a decade,” D.G. Chengappa, director of fire services, told IANS.

He said there was less fire and more smoke and apparently several people panicked and tried to jump to safety.

Visuals caught on cell phones and telecast on TV channels showed a young woman trying to jump to the sixth floor from the seventh, slipping and falling to the ground. Another showed a young man jumping to the ground from the top floor.

It is feared they are among the nine dead.

A young woman and a young man, however, jumped to safety from the fourth and fifth floor respectively. A large number of people gathered at the complex held a large piece of cloth to break the fall of the two.

The fire broke out in the fifth-floor office of an IT firm around 4 p.m., trapping several hundred people in the seven-storey Carlton Towers, an office and commercial complex on the busy old Airport Road in Bangalore’s central business district.

Fire brigade officials said 16 fire tenders battled the fire for about an hour and all people were evacuated after about two hours.

Inspector General of Police P.S.Sandhu told reporters at the site that the fire appeared to have started due to electrical short circuiting.

People broke open glass panes with bare hands and any other material they could lay hands on to let out the smoke.

Dozens of office-goers were seen coughing as they were caught in the smoke.

Rescue operations were hindered as hundreds of people gathered on the busy street restricting the free movement of fire brigade vehicles and fire personnel.

Sandhu said the narrow road and the evening hour traffic did cause a delay in fire tenders reaching the site of the blaze.

Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa expressed shock and grief over the tragedy and said an enquiry would be held to ascertain the causes.