Major fire breaks out at expo grounds in Hyderabad, over 130 stalls gutted
Hyderabad, Jan 30: A major fire broke out at the exhibition grounds here Wednesday night, officials said.
At least two persons were admitted to a hospital due to suffocation, officials said, adding that around 35,000 people visited the stalls Wednesday.
The fire started at around 8.30 pm and based on preliminary information, it was revealed that the blaze might have started due to short-circuit at a private bank's stall which spread to nearby areas, triggering panic among visitors.
Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali said there was no loss of life and around 130 stalls were gutted in the incident.
A thorough inquiry would be conducted into the matter, he said.
Twelve fire tenders and as many water tankers were rushed to the spot to put out the fire and teams of disaster response force of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation were also pressed into service, the officials said.
The fire was brought under control by 11 pm, they said.
GHMC Commissioner Dana Kishore said the visitors were safely evacuated in a coordinated manner and the situation is under control now.
Mahmood Ali, GHMC Mayor B Rammohan, Kishore along with senior officials from police and other departments were present at the spot and monitored rescue operations.
Eye-witnesses, many of them businessmen, said they suffered heavy loss of property due to the fire and claimed they had taken loans to set up the stalls. They demanded the government to extend financial assistance.
The 45-day All-India industrial exhibition popularly called 'Numaish' started on January 1.
Organising Committee of the Exhibition Society had earlier said around 2,500 stalls of various products will be set up at the Nampally exhibition grounds.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
