Five killed in fire at furniture shop building in Hyderabad
Hyderabad (PTI): Five persons, including two children and an elderly woman, died after a fire broke out in a four-storey furniture shop building in Nampally here, officials said on Sunday.
A major fire broke out on Saturday in the building, after which rescue operations were launched to save five persons trapped in the basement, officials said.
"Five bodies, including that of two boys and an elderly woman were retrieved from the cellar of the building on Sunday," a senior police official told PTI.
They are suspected to have died due to asphyxiation. However, the cause of the deaths would be known after post-mortem, she said.
ALSO READ: Three killed in fire at furniture shop building in Hyderabad
When asked about the cause of the blaze, the official said it was under investigation. A case was registered against the owner of the shop, the official added.
Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence Department Director General Vikram Singh Mann told media on Sunday that furniture, raw material, chemicals, plastics, mattresses, foam were among the materials stored in the two basements of the building.
This apart, accommodation with a room was provided to a security guard and his family in the cellar, he said, adding the basements were meant only for parking.
Multiple agencies, including police, fire, NDRF personnel and Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), took part in the rescue operations that began Saturday afternoon.
Although the fire was brought under control, thick smoke billowing out from the building made the operation difficult.
The ramp leading to the basements was also blocked with materials which made it difficult for rescue personnel to access, officials earlier said.
Those who were trapped were the family members of a security guard and other workers.
Expressing shock over the incident, Transport and Hyderabad District in-charge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Sunday said the government would support the families of the victims.
He directed the police officials to file criminal cases against the shop owner for "not following" fire safety guidelines.
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ISRO successfully conducts second integrated air drop test for Gaganyaan mission
New Delhi (PTI): Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure a safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
Union minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown etc.
In the IADT-02 test, a simulated crew module, weighing about 5.7 tonnes, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about three kilometres and released over a designated drop zone in the sea, near the Sriharikota coast.
In a statement, the ISRO said, "Ten parachutes of four types were deployed in a precise sequence during the descent of the crew module, gradually reducing the velocity for safe touchdown. Subsequently, the simulated crew module was successfully recovered in coordination with the Indian Navy."
