Tamil Nadu: One dead after fire breaks out at jewellery store in Madurai city

MADURAI: A 49-year-old shop employee died after a fire suddenly broke out inside a jewellery store on the usually busy South Masi Street in Tamil Nadu's Madurai city on Monday night.
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 immediately alerted 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 trapped inside on the third floor. On the other hand, the fire started to spread across the building and black smoke emerged. This hindered fire fighters who tried to reach Motilal. The fire fighters broke the glass windows of the shop on the higher floors to try to get inside. It took around three hours for the fire to be brought 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.