CUTTACK: An Odia couple from Cuttack was among the eight who killed in the fire that started at an electric bike showroom and engulfed a hotel upstairs in Secunderabad, Telangana, on Monday night. The deceased have been identified as Chandan Jethi (29) and his wife Mitali Mohapatra Jethi (28) of Mohanty Pada in Kafla Bazaar area of Cuttack.
Family members said Chandan and Mitali got married in November 2020 and were living in Bangalore. "They had gone to Hyderabad where Mitali was undergoing training. Chandan, a software engineer, had accompanied her as he was currently working from home," said Spandan Jethi (34), Chandan's elder brother.
The couple had booked a room at Ruby Luxury Pride Hotel, located above the showroom near the passport office. Fire broke out at the showroom around 10pm.
Spandan, also a software professional, said, "We came to know from Telangana police that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the showroom and spread to the hotel above. Police recovered the bodies and took it to Gandhi Hospital. We have been asked to identify the bodies. We have no idea how it happened. We are on our way to Hyderabad."
Nine others were injured and rushed to various hospitals, police said on Monday. Most of the victims died of asphyxiation. Police said there were 25 people staying in the hotel at the time of the incident. According to one of the occupants of the hotel, he noticed smoke and fire coming out of the cellar. He, along with four others, escaped from the fifth floor to the next building and later called "100" for help.
(With inputs
from Agencies)
