Six asphyxiated to death as fire breaks out at Pune bakery

The fire broke out at the `Bakes and Cakes` shop located on the ground floor of a nine-storey building.

Pune: At least six migrant labourers were suffocated to death when a fire broke out at a bakery shop located in Kondhwa, Pune.

The incident took place at around 4 am on Friday at the `Bakes and Cakes` shop located on the ground floor of a nine-storey building.

A short-circuit is believed to be the reason of the fire.

The six workers, all hailing from Uttar Pradesh, were caught unawares as the blaze quickly engulfed the mezzanine floor on which they slept inside the bakery, which is owned by three partners.

The bakery was locked from outside, which prevented the trapped employees from rescuing themselves. It hampered the relief operation too.

"We received a call at around 4.45 am today and immediately fire tenders were rushed to the spot. As we reached the spot, we saw smoke emanating from the shutter of the shop, which was locked from outside," a fire brigade official said.

While efforts were on to break the shutter, the bakery shop owner came to the spot and opened it.

"As soon as the shutter was opened, we saw a huge fire inside and got information that there are bakery workers who were trapped at a loft inside the shop," the fire officer said.

The fire brigade personnel wore breathing apparatus sets and climbed a staircase inside to reach the victims.

"There were six workers, who were found in an unconscious state. They were rushed to the Sassoon General hospital, where they were declared dead," said the officer.

The deceased have been identified as - Ishad Ansari (26), Juned Ansari (25), Shanu Ansari (20), Zakir Ansari (24), Faeem Ansari (21) and Zishan Ansari (21).

"Since the main shutter was locked from outside, all the six got trapped inside and died of suffocation," the fire official informed.

"We have registered a case and investigation is on," an officer at Kondhwa police station said. 

Shaken by the tragedy, a Pune civic official said they would probe the conflagration and conduct a survey of all bakeries in the city to check their fire-preparedness and related issues.