Nine people, including seven of a family, died after a massive fire broke out in a four-storied building in Hyderabad’s Bazarghat area on Monday.

The fire was noticed around 9 am on the ground floor of the building where inflammable chemicals had been stored which caused the blaze to spread quickly and even destroyed vehicles parked outside the building, police said.

Thick smoke engulfed the upper floors of the apartment and fire officials pulled out at least 31 people and the injured were sent to Osmania Hospital. The deceased mostly resided on the first floor of the building and died of suffocation.

“There were chemicals stored in the parking area. We do not know what kind of chemicals, but definitely inflammable,”  DG (Fire Services) Nagi Reddy said.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock over the incident and directed officials to provide better medical care to the victims.  Urban Development and Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao visited the site along with Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, and announced Rs 5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the victims.

The opposition BJP slammed the BRS government for failing to take action against illegal warehouses in the state.

“There have been at least six to seven such incidents in Hyderabad due to the presence of illegal warehouses in residential areas. We have been complaining about such warehouses in residential and commercial areas. But every time an accident happens, the government says ‘we will not allow such warehouses in residential areas’. I approached the chief secretary, police and municipal officials but to no avail,” Union minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy said.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Vikram Singh Mann blamed the public for the tragedy. “Why does the public allow such things in residential areas? This should have been brought to the notice of police, fire and GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) officials… we could have taken action,” he said.

Hyderabad MP and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi urged the government to provide an aid of Rs 10 lakh to the affected families.

Meanwhile, there was ruckus when the Congress Nampally candidate Feroze Khan arrived at the incident site and AIMIM workers objected to the visit.