Bangalore high-rise fire kills nine

BANGALORE: Nine people, three of them women, died and 68 were injured in a fire at Carlton Towers, a seven-storey commercial complex on HAL Airport Road, here on Tuesday. Seven were brought dead to the hospital. At least three of them leapt to their death by breaking open windows on the sixth and seventh floors in panic even as a thick blanket of smoke engulfed the floors.

Origin in service duct : Disturbing images of three people jumping to their deaths were broadcast on television, starkly reminiscent of the initial images of the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the U.S. The fire is believed to have begun in the service duct in the second floor around 4.30 p.m. Smoke spread to the upper floors through the service ducts, scattering people in offices and the several restaurants in the building. The Fire and Emergency Services, which were alerted by passersby who noticed smoke emanating from the top floors, reached the place at 5 p.m. Seven fire engines were deployed and medical and paramedical personnel, armed with 1,000 masks from the nearby Manipal Hospital, rushed to the spot. Fire personnel said the flames were doused by 6.15 p.m., adding that the absence of proper ventilation aggravated the situation. The injured include five Fire and Emergency Services personnel and a police constable. Traffic was disrupted as large crowds of anxious onlookers gathered below the building.

“Only smoke, no flames” : Onlookers said they did not see any flames, only smoke.Manipal Hospital Medical Director H.S. Ballal said that none of the deceased sustained burns. “Several people in the Intensive Care Units currently require lung support. Most suffered from asphyxiation due to thick smoke,” he said.

The deceased : The list of the deceased persons, released by the hospital, is as follows: Savitha, Benzi Shanthakumar, Rajesh Subramaniam, Surabhi Joshi, Purohit Madan, Sunil Iyer, Fayaz Pasha, Akhil Uday and Siddharth Padam. Their identities were ascertained from their ID cards and name plates. Their bodies were taken to Victoria and Bowring Hospital for autopsy. Rakesh Ramachandran, part of the fire rescue team the neighbouring luxury hotel Leela Palace, said that the exit doors on every floor were locked. He had rushed to Carlton Towers following a call from a friend who was trapped in the building. The locked doors made it impossible for people to use the stairs that led to the ground floor, he claimed.