Gujarat: Fire in Ahmedabad eye care centre kills its caretaker couple

Ahmedabad, Dec 31 (PTI) A couple employed as caretakers-cum-security guards at an eye care centre in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city died after a fire broke out there on Saturday morning, officials said.

The husband-wife duo was found dead near the staircase on the ground floor of the low-rise building that housed the eye care centre in Naranpura locality, and it is suspected that they died due to inhalation of smoke following the blaze, divisional fire officer Om Jadeja said.

The eye care centre operated only during the day and nobody was admitted there for treatment, he said.

“The fire erupted in the eye care centre in the morning. The fire department received a call about it around 9.50 am. Two teams – one for firefighting and another for search and rescue – were rushed to the spot and they carried out the operations for around 40 minutes,” he said.

“There were only two occupants at the centre at the time of incident. It was a couple employed as caretakers and security guards. They were found dead near the staircase and prima facie they died due to smoke inhalation. However, the exact reason behind their death will be clear in the autopsy report,” he said.

Nearly 70 per cent of the building was engulfed in smoke and the rescue team worked to cross ventilate it to release the smoke, Jadeja added.

The deceased were identified as Naresh Pardhi, 25, and his wife Harsha, 24, the officer said.

Police personnel and forensic teams are at the spot and a probe is on, he said.