Fire in Nellore kills disabled woman, guts houses of 14 families

Tragic fire in Ranganayakulapeta kills disabled woman, gutting homes of 14 families; relief announced by officials.

A fire killed a disabled woman and gutted the houses of 14 families at Ranganayakulapeta in Burmashell Gunta on Thursday afternoon.

The woman, identified as Nagalakshmi, could not get out of her house in time and died in the fire, according to Nellore District Disaster Response and Fire Officer Vaka Srinivasa Reddy. Another woman was injured, he added.

Mr. Srinivasa Reddy said they received information about the fire at 2.33 p.m. and dispatched three fire tenders to the spot. The fire personnel put out the blaze in minutes and rescued the families.

The Fire Department, however, was unable to ascertain the cause of the fire. According to sources, around 6-7 gas cylinders exploded while the fire personnel were fighting the blaze.

Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) P. Narayana announced ₹50,000 to the family of the deceased and ₹15,000 each for the affected families for immediate relief, from his own funds. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Nellore Parliamentary in-charge Sk. Abdul Aziz handed over the amount to the families.

Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy also announced support to the families and said the State government would help them every way possible. Officials are assessing the damage. Ex gratia would be given to the families based on their report.

District Collector M. Hari Narayanan inspected the site and inquired about the cause of the accident. He interacted with the affected families and consoled them.