Hyderabad, May 18 : Sunday's fire accident in a building near iconic Charminar that claimed 17 lives is the worst fire disaster to hit Hyderabad in recent years.

The tragedy once again brought into focus the lack of fire safety measures in multi-storey buildings and failure to ensure adherence to safety norms despite announcements by authorities concerned after every such disaster.

Eight children were among 17 people killed when the fire broke out, apparently due to a short-circuit, in a building in Gulzar Houz, a commercial hub, on Sunday morning.

Like in most of the fire accidents in recent years, this G+2 building too had shops on the ground floor while families were residing upstairs.

Sunday's disaster happened just two days after a fire broke out in the G+3 floor building in Afzalgunj, the busy commercial area not far from Charminar. This building also housed commercial establishments on the ground floor and residential flats above. Fortunately, there were no casualties as the firefighters rescued eight persons, including an infant trapped on the upper floors. An electrical short-circuit was suspected to be the cause.

Hyderabad, its twin city, Secunderabad, and suburbs have seen a series of accidents in recent years, and after every accident, authorities promised action against those violating fire safety norms and illegally running commercial establishments in residential areas.

In July last year, a 10-year-old girl died and five others were injured in a fire in a multi-storey building in the Jiyaguda area.

The fire broke out in a furniture warehouse on the ground floor and spread to three floors of the building.

Ten people were killed and 12 others injured after a fire broke out in a building in Nampally in the heart of Hyderabad city in November 2023.

The fire started from the ground floor, which was being used to store chemicals used in making fibre bodies of air coolers. Six families living on rent in six flats on three upper floors were trapped in the fire.

In March 2023, a huge fire in the famous Swapnalok complex in Secunderabad claimed six lives. The fire broke out on the 5th floor of the complex, trapping 13 people. While seven of them were rescued, six others, including four women, died of suffocation after inhaling smoke.

Three workers were charred to death in a huge fire in a garment store on Nallagutta on Ministers Road, Secunderabad, in January 2023.

The fire raged for two days in the six-storeyed commercial building. The municipal authorities later demolished the structure as it had become weak.

Eight people were killed and nine others injured in a hotel in a fire that broke out in a multi-storey complex in Secunderabad in September 2022. Fire engulfed the Ruby Pride Luxury Hotel following an explosion in an e-bike showroom located in the basement of the five-storey building near the Passport Office.

In March 2022, eleven migrant workers from Bihar were charred to death in a huge fire in a scrap warehouse in Secunderabad.

The workers were asleep in rooms on the first floor while scrap material was stored on the ground floor.

Following a series of accidents, the then BRS government had directed authorities concerned to take action against those illegally running shops, warehouses, and business establishments in the cellars or ground floor of multi-storey buildings and also those flouting fire safety norms.

Politicians who visited the site of Sunday's tragedy reiterated the demand for action to prevent such incidents, while the government announced an inquiry.

Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, who is the MP from Secunderabad, said the authorities should take steps to prevent fire accidents. He wanted police, fire services, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and electricity departments to ensure compliance to fire safety norms.

/IANS