Angamaly: A massive fire broke out in a three-storey building located along the National Highway at Karukutty here on Friday evening in which one person was charred to death.
The deceased has been identified as K A Babu, a native of Kannur, temporarily residing at Karayamparambu.
The blaze at the building opposite to Adlux convention centre broke out at 4 pm and it quickly turned into a catastrophic fire. While the employees ran out of the building and managed to escape, Babu, who arrived there as part of his business requirement, was trapped inside the building. It’s thought that he couldn’t move out quickly as he had difficulty walking. The charred body was later recovered from the second floor of the building. Four cars parked on the car porch were completely gutted.
According to Fire Force officials, a short circuit is thought to be the cause of the inferno. The fire was first noticed in the building, which was functioning as the office and the display of products of the New Year Group, at 4 pm. Panic and confusion gripped the area as the building quickly became engulfed in flames, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky. Fire units from various fire and rescue stations were pressed into action and the blaze was finally doused late in the night.
According to locals, a total of 24 employees were at the office of the ‘New Year Golden Tea International’ when the mishap happened. While the products were displayed on the ground floor, the company office was functioning on the first floor. Some of the rooms had automatic glass sliding rooms functioning via a biometric system. A big portion of the building was constructed with wood, which resulted in a catastrophic fire. The blaze had spread all over the building by the time the fire force personnel arrived, they said.
Nearly 10 fire units from the fire stations in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts, besides ambulances, were pressed into action to contain the blaze from spreading into nearby buildings and douse it. The tragedy was compounded by the challenging firefighting conditions, as adjacent buildings on both sides limited the effectiveness of water jets and complicated rescue efforts.
