Ahmedabad: Fire at Sakar 7 building, one dead

According to fire officials, fire has started in the cable duct of the commercial complex due to short circuit of wiring, resulting in heavy smoke coming out from each floor of the building.

One person died and another injured when they jumped from different floors of an office-cum-commercial complex near Ashram road in Ahmedabad on Friday in a bid to save themselves when the cable duct caught fire.

According to officials, the fire incident was reported in block A of Sakar 7 commercial complex, a five-storey building on Ashram road in Ahmedabad around 2:30 pm on Friday. More than 100 people were present inside various offices and banks at the commercial complex when heavy smoke started to come out of the second floor.

After dozens of people were rescued from the ground and first floor, teams of fire safety department arrived at the spot and rescued as many as 35 people from the second, third and fourth floors.

However, in the process, a 38-year-old man jumped from the fourth floor of the building in panic and died in the process. The deceased has been identified as Jaydeep Singh, a resident of Nikol, who had come to an office on the fourth floor to meet his friend.

Another person jumped from the first floor of the building and received minor injuries in his leg, as per the police.

According to fire officials, fire has started in the cable duct of the commercial complex due to short circuit of wiring, resulting in heavy smoke coming out from each floor of the building.

“A total of 35 persons were rescued from the Sakar 7 building using turn table crane, extension ladders and through staircases. Fire had started from the second floor cable duct probably due to short circuit and overloading due to which fire spread through the entire cable duct of the building. Though the flames remained inside the duct, there was heavy smoke coming from each floor. The rescue operation and fire dousing lasted for one hour. We are now probing the cause of fire,” said M F Dastoor, chief fire officer, Fire Safety Department.

Police said that except for two, rest of the rescued persons are now out of danger.

“The deceased was registered as an outsider at an office on fourth floor. When smoke started coming out of the roof of fourth floor, he panicked and jumped from one of the windows. Upon impact, he was rushed to a nearby private hospital for immediate help but was declared brought dead by a team of doctors. We are probing the cause behind fire and an accidental death report has been filed in the case of victim,” said a police officer at Navrangpura police station.

According to eye witnesses, at the time of accident, two banks — HDFC and Karur Vysya Bank and four offices were being run from the building.

“I was having my lunch break around 2:30 pm when I saw people running out of building in panic. The smoke started from the A block of the building and fire department people asked the people to rush towards the B block. Then they were rescued by breaking window panes on the second and third floor,” said Ram Singh (60), a security guard.

One of the employees at a consultancy office on the third floor said that they were rescued through the use of extension ladders.

“We somehow reached the second floor when smoke started but then it became difficult to use the next staircase down. Then we broke the window panes after which ladder was given to us to step out one by one,” said the employee not wishing to be named.