Three firemen of Fire and Emergency Services, were killed while six others injured after a three-storey building collapsed when they were trying to put out a blaze in Golepulli area of Talab Tiloo in Jammu early on Wednesday morning.
According to preliminary reports, “a saw mill located on the ground floor of a three storey building caught fire under mysterious circumstances around 4.30 a.m. A fire alarm was raised by local residents in the area following which fire tenders were rushed to the spot to contain the fire around 4.48 a.m. On reaching the location, while fire fighters were dousing the flames of fire the entire building collapsed around 5.30 a.m. A total number of seven personnel were trapped inside the debris of the huge structure,” official sources said.
According to VK Singh, DG, Fire services and Emergency, “fire tenders were rushed to Golepulli area of Talab Tiloo soon after receiving the distress call early Wednesday morning”. He said “We lost three personnel in the incident, while six persons — four civilians and two firemen — were rescued in an injured condition and were evacuated to a hospital”. “It is a tragic incident and we are looking into the cause of the fire. It is a matter of investigation whether the building was unsafe,” he told reporters.
“The saw mill was stocked with timber supplies and a gas cylinder also exploded during the fire as a result of which the building collapsed due to intense heat”, he added.
A team of NDRF, stationed at Noorpur area of Himanchal Pradesh, was also rushed to the spot to assist local teams of SDRF and police personnel. Despite making best possible efforts to rescue trapped fire fighters the joint teams of NDRF, SDRF failed to save their lives. Several colleagues of fire fighters broke down while shifting their dead bodies.
The deceased fire fighters were identified as Vimal Raina, Mohd Aslam and Rattan Chand. Their dead bodies were shifted to a nearby hospital to complete legal formalities.
In another tragic accident, five members of a family, including two women, were killed when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Kishtwar district.
According to police, at the time of the accident the family was carrying the body of a baby from Jammu to their Bahadat village in Drabshalla for last rites.
According to initial reports the driver of the private car lost control over the wheels near Paani Nallah. The deceased were identified as Pawan Kumar (32), his wife Rekha Devi (26), Rita Devi (30), Kewal Krishan (37) and P Kumar (30).