Panic leads to deaths,injuries as people jump off top floors

Nine people died and as many as 17 were critically injured as a major fire broke out in a multi-storey commercial complex...

Nine people died and as many as 17 were critically injured as a major fire broke out in a multi-storey commercial complex,housing several software companies,in Bangalore on Tuesday. Of them,at least three died after jumping off the Carlton Towers in an attempt to save their lives. Many of the critically injured also have head injuries caused by jumping from the building.

The fire began around 4.30 pm following a short- circuit in an electrical duct on the fourth floor. The smoke billowed through the seven-storey Carlton Towers within minutes,blinding exits and setting off panic. It took 15 fire tenders two hours to control the blaze,and to evacuate the building.

Asphyxiation was the primary cause of most of the deaths,said firefighters and doctors at the Manipal Hospital,located barely 500 metres away,where the injured were rushed. As many as 58 of those injured are admitted in the hospital.

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We have not seen any third-degree or fourth-degree burns. Injuries are more primary in nature, Chief Operating Officer of the hospital Dr Nagendra Swamy said.

The fire started in an electrical duct following a short circuit on the fourth floor and spread through the building through air ducts, Director of Karnataka Fire Services B G Chengappa said.

Fire officer Annegowda said that while the flames did not spread as feared,the smoke was blinding. Nothing could be seen and people panicked because of this. Our fire engines also got stuck in the traffic jams that built up around the fire site and it took many rescue units a while to reach.

Fire personnel also lacked ladders that could reach the upper floors as well as resources to carry out rescue from the roof.

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Located on the Old Airport Road,the Carlton Towers is one of the earliest commercial structures to have come up in east Bangalore and houses a Wipro unit as well as several small and medium business units. Popular restaurants like TGIF,Indi Joe,Bombay Post and Corner House are located in the building.

We managed to get everybody out, said Pradhan Achaiah,a senior official of Wipro,located on the sixth floor.

Madhusudan,who managed to leave the building in time,said some jumped out of windows misreading frantic gestures by people like him gathered below asking them to break the glass to avoid suffocation. Some of them jumped thinking there were safety nets below, he said.

I found two girls who had fallen unconscious on the seventh floor. We rescued them both, said Ravi Prakash,a fire officer.

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The dead,including three women and six men,have been identified as Surabhi Joshi,Savitha,Benzi Kumar, Purohit Madan Singh,Sunil Iyer,Fayaz Pasha,Siddharth Padam,Akhil Uday Vijayan and Rajesh Subramanian.