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Carlton Towers fire kills nine

Bangalore Bureau

At least three leapt to their deaths; 68 injured; exit doors locked, rescuers say

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

People being rescued from Carlton Towers on HAL Airport Road in Bangalore where a major fire broke out on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: In a tragic reminder of the abysmal disaster response system of the city, nine people, three of them women, died and 68 were injured when a fire broke out at Carlton Towers, a seven-storey commercial complex on HAL Airport Road, here on Tuesday.

Seven were brought dead to 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. Disturbing images of the three were shown on television, starkly reminiscent of the initial images of the 2001 attack on New York’s World Trade Center.

Origin in service duct

The fire is believed to have begun in — and ironically, it was learnt later, confined to — the service duct in the second floor around 4.15 p.m. Smoke spread to the upper floors through the duct, scattering people in offices and the several restaurants in the building. The Fire and Emergency Services, which were alerted by passersby, arrived 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., and pointed out that absence of proper ventilation had aggravated the situation. Five of their colleagues and a police constable are among the injured.

Traffic was disrupted, leading to a worse-than-usual jam on this arterial road, as large crowds gathered near the T-shaped building. Onlookers confirmed 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, 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 names were obtained from their ID cards and name plates at their workplaces. The bodies were taken to Victoria and Bowring Hospital for autopsy. Rakesh Ramachandran, part of the fire rescue team at the neighbouring luxury hotel Leela Palace, said exit doors leading to the stairs 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.

Along with seven members from his team, he broke the locks of six such exit doors, enabling many to flee to safety.

“We were shocked to see that these doors, which are critical exit points at such times, were kept locked. It took us nearly an hour to reach the fourth and fifth floors where many were trapped,” he said.

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