Death toll in Manikonda fire in AP rises to 7

The toll in the fire mishap at a residential apartment near Manikonda in Hyderabad rose to seven after a 39-year-old woman succumbed to burn injuries in the early hours today, police said.

G Anantha Padma, who had sustained over 60 per cent burn injuries in the incident, died at around 5.50 AM this morning while undergoing treatment at a hospital, they said.

The incident had occurred at Puppalguda under Rajendranagar mandal on Sunday night when the blaze, which started from a makeshift shed erected by a local shooting unit, engulfed a nearby residential apartment, claiming the lives of six persons, including a 10-day-old baby.

Andhra Pradesh government had yesterday directed the State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department to conduct an inquiry into the Manikonda fire incident. Narsingi police, who had yesterday registered a case against Vijay Kumar, the owner of the make-shift godown shed where the fire started, said they were continuing with the investigation and no arrests were made so far.

The shed was used for storing film-shooting equipment, and the plastic material dumped near the film and TV serial shooting sets caught fire first, according to the police. The fire, suspected to be caused by a short-circuit, engulfed the first three-floors of the five-storeyed apartment even as fire department personnel rescued 15 persons.