Vikasnagar (Uttarakhand): Firemen have doused the flame in Dehradun's Tuni where a house caught fire due to a cylinder explosion. The rescue team has recovered two girl child's bodies while efforts are on to retrieve the bodies of the remaining two children. Additional teams of SDRF have been carrying out rescue operations.
On the other hand, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dham has announced a compensation amount of Rs 2 lakh next to the kin of the deceased. The chief minister has been seeking updates on the ongoing rescue operation.
Besides, Dehradun District Magistrate (DM) Sonika has taken serious note of the callous approach of some officials in containing the blaze. The DM has suspended Nayab Tehsildar in this connection. The axe fell on some officials attached to the fire tender department also.
The DM has been overseeing the rescue operation and also met relatives of the fire victims. She consoled the relatives of the fire victims and assured all assistance from the administration. A magisterial inquiry has been set up to probe the Tuni fire incident.
Earlier, in a tragic incident, four children of a family were killed while four other family members were injured after a four-storeyed house was gutted in a massive fire on Thursday. The incident took place in the Tiuni area of district Dehradun. According to official sources, the fire was caused due to a suspected gas cylinder explosion.
The injured were rushed to the hospital. Three people were discharged after getting first aid, while the condition of a woman is said to be critical. Tiuni police station in charge said, "A massive fire broke out in a four-storeyed house in Tiuni at around 5 om on Thursday."
Preliminary investigation suggests that the fire was caused due to a gas cylinder explosion in the house owned by Surat Ram Joshi, a retired employee of the state education department. The deceased children were identified as two-and-a-half-year-old Adhira, nine-year-old Sonam, two-and-a-half-year-old Sejal, and nine-year-old Samridhi, all grandchildren of Joshi, the official said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dilip Singh Kunwar who also rushed to the spot on information said two fire tenders were rushed to the spot on information to douse the fire. However, the fire tenders ran out of water due to the intensity of the blaze. Fire tenders from Mori fire statin in Uttarkashi district were directed to the spot. Fire tenders from Himachal Pradesh also joined the rescue operation. Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Yukta Mishra oversaw the rescue operation.
Also read:Odisha: 3 drivers charred to death after trucks catch fire after collision on NH-49 in Jharsuguda
Kunwar said the fire brigade team managed to rescue four people who were rushed to the hospital. Four children were trapped inside and the fire brigade teams could not find them as the fire was very intense. Villagers said that a lot of time was wasted as the fire tenders ran out of water. The fire could have been controlled and innocent lives could have been saved if the fire tenders had a sufficient supply of water.
