Advertisement
Madurai: A 49-year-old shop employee died after a massive blaze engulfs a jewellery store on the usually busy South Masi Street in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai city on Monday night. According to Rathnavel, Dean of the Madurai Government Rajaji hospital, one person was brought dead to the hospital.
According to sources, a private jewellery store, Janaki Jewellers, has been functioning on South Masi Street for years. On Monday night, a fire broke out in the shop at around 7 pm. The fire and rescue services department was promptly alarmed and fire trucks and personnel from Thideer Nagar, Anuppanadi, and Tallakulam were deployed to tackle the fire.
Though the jewellery shop was evacuated and no one suffered injuries, a shop employee and a relative of the owner, Motilal, 49, was found to have been stranded inside on the third floor. On the other hand, the fire started to spread across the building and black haze emerged. This caused difficulty for firefighters trying to reach Motilal. Firefighters broke the windows of the shop on the upper floor to try to gain entry. It took about three hours to bring the situation under control.
After a struggle, fire and rescue services department personnel managed to reach Motilal, who was found to be unconscious due to smoke inhalation. He had also suffered some burns. He was taken in an 108 Ambulance to Government Rajaji Hospital where doctors declared that he was brought dead. His body was sent for post mortem examination. Traffic movement briefly came to a halt on South Masi Street. The Madurai city police were investigating to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.
It may be recalled that just in July this year, a fire broke out at a privately-owned plastic shop on South Masi Street. South Masi Street is a commercial hub and located close to Meenakshi Amman temple in the heart of Madurai city.
