SHILLONG:
One person died of suffocation inside a godown after a massive fire broke out at Thana Road in Police Bazar on October 14.
The incident took place at Janata Furniture building at around 1.20 pm.
“One person has died due to suffocation,” East Khasi Hills district police chief Sylvester Nongtnger said overphone.
The deceased has been identified as Sampath, a manager of the Bhajanlal.
He was in the godown to pick up material for delivery along with a porter.
While the porter left, Sampath remained behind and was soon trapped in the building after the fire broke out thereby suffocating him to death.
Fire tenders were pressed into service promptly upon being notified, but the narrow alleys and congested surroundings proved a major challenge for the tenders to reach the location in close proximity.
Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Kamal Thapa said, “We have taken out the person from the godown through a small window, no one else is stuck inside. Unfortunately, he passed away and we are still trying to control the flames.”
Police say no one else was injured except for the deceased.
Meanwhile, traffic in the capital city came to a grinding halt as vehicular movement had to be diverted away from the busy market hub and main city square.