Two labourers were charred to death after a fire broke out at a garment manufacturing unit operating inside a three-storey building in Gandhi Nagar on Sunday night, the police said.
The incident was reported on Sunday at 11.52 p.m. in Shashi Garden’s Gandhi Nagar, they added.
“Ten fire tenders were pressed into service and the fire was doused at 12.45 a.m. but the cooling operation continued till 3 a.m. Two bodies [labourers] were recovered from the building. A firefighter suffered a shoulder injury during the rescue operation,” a fire official said.
“It appears the fire broke out due to a short circuit on the ground floor and spread to the first and second floors. The residents were sleeping on the third floor at the time of the incident. Some family members were rescued with the help of the locals and firefighters,” he added.
The building’s owner, Kishore Aggarwal, lives with his five family members on the third floor.
They were rescued by the locals and fire officers, the official said.
Stitched shirts, pants
The deceased, Fezan (22) and Shahmat (30), from Uttar Pradesh’s Sahajanpur district, used to stitch t-shirts and track pants in the garment unit.
“Their bodies were completely burned and separate identities could not be established. Their parents have been called for the DNA sampling. After this, the bodies will be handed over to their respective families,” a senior police officer said.
“The exact cause of fire is still unknown. The Forensic Science Laboratory [FSL] team also visited the building and collected the samples. A case under Indian Penal Code [IPC] Section 304A has been registered at Gandhi Nagar police station,” the officer added.
Families of the two victims told the police that the flat was rented a month ago.
“It was a new job for my brother and he was working over time to earn more money. He wanted to provide better education to his two sons aged eight and five. He was getting ₹12 per t-shirt during the over time hours,” said Shahmat’s brother Kasim.
