Hyderabad: Municipal authorities in Hyderabad have decided to demolish the six storeyed building which was gutted in a huge fire three days ago while the search continued on Sunday for remains of two missing persons.
For the fourth day rescue workers continued their operation to trace the remains of two men in the rubble at the commercial building at Nallagutta on Ministers Road in Secunderabad.
Skeletal remains of one person were found on Saturday and the same were preserved at Gandhi Hospital for DNA analysis.
Three workers Waseem, Zaheer and Junaid were reported missing after the huge fire broke out in the building. Some survivors said the three persons had gone to collect their belongings but were trapped.
Two fire service officers were injured while trying to douse the fire on Thursday. It took eight hours for the fire to be brought under control. As many as 23 fire tenders from various fire stations in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad were pressed into service.
With smoke still emanating from some parts of the building and small fires getting reignited due to inflammable material, the personnel of Disaster Response Force (DRF) and fire services were moving cautiously.
The rescue teams were using drone cameras to collect the footage from different floors and accordingly plan their operation.
The massive fire, which broke out on January 19 and raged for over eight hours, has weakened the structure and experts have warned that it may collapse any time.
The officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have decided to demolish the structure. However, they made it clear that they will wait till the remains of two missing workers are traced.
Massive debris and huge amounts of inflammable material has made the task of rescue workers difficult.
Officials said the latest technology will be used to demolish the building and all precautions will be taken to ensure that the adjoining buildings are not damaged.
GHMC Town Planning wing has placed caution notice outside the building warning people not to come closer to it.
The notice states that the building is in dangerous and hazardous condition. The owners and inmates of the building have already been asked to vacate immediately as it is likely to collapse at any moment.
The adjoining buildings have also been vacated as a precautionary measure.
(IANS)
