Fire breaks out in Maharashtra; seven guests killed in blaze

[caption id=“attachment_3043060” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Gondia (Maharashtra): At least seven persons were killed in their sleep when a fire broke out in Hotel Bindal in this eastern Maharashtra town early on Wednesday, an official said. “The blaze was noticed around 3.30 am when the victims were fast asleep. Six men have been charred to death. Some others are feared trapped inside,” Gondia police officer Jitendra Borkar told. Five fire tenders and tankers were pressed into service to battle the flames which were brought under control after nearly seven hours. A search is on to rescue some other guests feared trapped in the hotel. The cause of the fire is being investigated, Borkar added. A tribal-dominated district, Gondia is around 170 km east of Nagpur and bordering Madhya Pradesh. “Rescue work is underway and the fire brigade team is searching if any person is trapped inside the premises,” a fire officer said. Fire tenders were called from neighbouring Balaghat, Bhandara, Tumsar, Lanji and also from Adani Power Plant in Tirora to help douse the flames. There where nearly 15 guests staying in the hotel at the time of the mishap. One person sustained serious injuries after he jumped from the second floor of the hotel following the fire. He died on way to Nagpur hospital, police said. Two bodies were charred beyond recognition while four others were found dead in their hotel rooms, they said. On getting information, District Collector Abhimanyu Kale, Superintendent of Police Dilip Patil Bhujbal rushed to the site and supervised the rescue work. Police officials had a tough time in controlling the crowd that gathered outside the mishap site after the fire. The deceased were yet to be identified, police said, adding that two of them had apparently come to attend a marriage function.