Hyderabad hotel fire | Relatives of victims mourn the death

September 14, 2022 12:01 am | Updated 04:01 pm IST - Hyderabad:

Police keep a watch at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital mortuary where bodies were being brought for post mortem. Relatives and colleagues of the victims too reached the mortuary to identify the victims, in Secunderabad on September 13, 2022.

Police keep a watch at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital mortuary where bodies were being brought for post mortem. Relatives and colleagues of the victims too reached the mortuary to identify the victims, in Secunderabad on September 13, 2022. | Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

A day after a fire killed eight people in a hotel at Secunderabad, a woman wept for her husband, a girl grieved for her father, and anxious colleagues were waiting for word from the police and doctors.

Preeti, daughter of 50-year-old Veerender Kumar Dewakar, the Delhi resident who died on Monday, reached the city with her mother on Tuesday, and went through the ordeal of identifying his body at Gandhi Hospital.

According to Ms. Preeti, Mr. Dewakar was a realtor who came to the city around 20 days ago. He was to leave for home on Monday but decided to stay for another day. An only child, she is worried about her mother now.

Chandan Jethi and Mitali Mahapatra, the couple from Bengaluru, also lost their lives in the fire. Their distant relative, who lives in Hyderabad, identified their bodies. The families would arrive soon, he said.

Police said that Ms. Mahapatra was to attend a training and her husband, a software engineer, joined her, deciding to work from Hyderabad, till the completion of her training. Her Facebook account shows that she was working for Oliva Skin and Hair Clinic as a medical aesthetic technician.

Colleagues of N. Balaji (52), a sales and audit manager, and P.N. Sitharaman (45), a sales manager for Aachi Foods in Chennai, were shocked when they were informed of the mishap.

Speaking to the media over the phone from Chennai, a colleague said that Mr. Balaji called his wife, Meenal, as soon as he sensed danger and sought help. Ms. Meenal called the company, which is extending all possible help in their time of grief.

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