Charminar fire accident: Two narrow entrances blamed for high toll

Tragic fire in Hyderabad due to narrow entrances, high toll; businesses shut in solidarity with affected family.

Two too narrow entrances, one to the first floor home and another wider one to the enclosed shopping space led to the disastrously high toll in the early morning blaze in Hyderabad on Sunday (May 18, 2025.) 

“Fire engine going inside? You must be joking. Only one person can climb the stairs of this small shutter and three persons can go inside abreast at the same time. When we reached the shutters were closed and there was heavy smoke restricting our entry,” informed a Fire Department official, who was among the first to reach. 

“If the persons had rushed to the terrace the toll could have been lower. The narrow entrance hampered our operations though we reached within few minutes,” said the official. 

The larger entrance leads to the large pearl trading shop owned by the family. “Shiv Shakti, M.  Poonamchand Jewellers, Modi Pearls and Telangana Pearls are some of the businesses owned by the family with five brothers. All the shops are shut in solidarity with the family,” informed Shaikh Nayeem who owns a toys business in the area.