Watchman dies of suffocation as 40 girls rescued from Pune hostel blaze

Pune: A 45-year-old watchman died of suffocation even as 40 girl students were rescued from a midnight fire in a four-storey building housing a girls hostel in Maharashtra's Pune city, police said Friday.

The police said the building on Kumthekar Road housed the girls hostel on first floor and a private educational institute on third and fourth floor.

The fire apparently started on the ground floor. The girls were on the first floor when the incidents took place, said the police.

All 40 students were sleeping when suddenly one of them noticed the smoke, said fire officer Devendra Potphode of Pune Municipal Corporation. The fire was brought under control and all girls were rescued, he added.

When huge plumes of smoke started to rise, the girls rushed to the terrace, he said. The firemen rescued all girls from a neighbouring building with the help of a ladder, he added.

After the rescue operation, it was noticed that Sagar Kulkarni, the watchman who lived in the same building, was missing.

Fire brigade personnel started a search operation and found Sagar unconscious in a room. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead before admission.