HYDERABAD, India (AP) — At least 17 people were killed and several injured in a fire that broke out at a building near the historic Charminar monument in southern Hyderabad city, officials said Sunday.
Several people were found unconscious and rushed to various hospitals, according to local media. They said the building housed a jewelry store at ground level and residential space above.
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An ambulance and a fire engine wait outside a building which caught fire near the Charminar area in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A child, who was injured when a building caught fire near the Charminar area in Hyderabad, is carried by rescuers to an ambulance, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A young child, who was injured when a building caught fire near the Charminar area in Hyderabad, is carried by a rescuer to an ambulance, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Fire officials rescue an injured person from a building after it caught fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Fire officials rescue an injured person from a building after it caught fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Fire officials rescue an injured person from a building after it caught fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
People watch as fire officials conduct rescue operations at a building following a fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
“The accident happened due to a short circuit and many people have died,” federal minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader G Kishan Reddy told reporters at the site of the accident.
Director general of Telangana fire services Y Nagi Reddy told reporters that 21 people were in the three-story building when the fire started on the ground floor early on Sunday.
“17 people, who were shifted to the hospital in an unconscious state, could not survive. The staircase was very narrow, which made escape difficult. There was only one exit, and the fire had blocked it,” he said.
The fire was brought under control.
Prime minister Narendra Modi announced financial compensation for the victims’ families and said in a post on X that he was “deeply anguished by the loss of lives.”
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.
An ambulance and a fire engine wait outside a building which caught fire near the Charminar area in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A child, who was injured when a building caught fire near the Charminar area in Hyderabad, is carried by rescuers to an ambulance, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
A young child, who was injured when a building caught fire near the Charminar area in Hyderabad, is carried by a rescuer to an ambulance, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Fire officials rescue an injured person from a building after it caught fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Fire officials rescue an injured person from a building after it caught fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Fire officials rescue an injured person from a building after it caught fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
People watch as fire officials conduct rescue operations at a building following a fire in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
WADI AD-DAWASIR, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saood Variawa snatched stage eight from South African compatriot Henk Lategan by three seconds after an impressive comeback drive in the Dakar Rally on Monday.
Variawa, only 20 and driving in his third Dakar, started 26th and was in sixth place with 100 kilometers to go in the 483-kilometer loop outside Wadi ad-Dawasir. Then he was third after 414 and second after 448.
For the second straight day Lategan had a stage win ripped from his grasp. On Sunday his Toyota's rear damper broke 30 kilometers from the finish.
Meanwhile, Luciano Benavides became the overall motorbike leader for the first time in his ninth Dakar after winning a second straight stage and gobbling up all 7 1/2 minutes in bonus time for faultlessly opening the way.
Benavides won the stage by 4:50 over KTM teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders and replaced Sanders atop the overall by 10 seconds going into the two-day marathon stage.
Monday's stage, the longest of the race, had a cocktail of dunes, valleys and rocks but navigation was easier than expected and it turned into a fast, wind-whipped special.
The top five cars — featuring main title contenders Lategan, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mattias Ekström — were less than a minute apart for the first 400 kilometers until Al-Attiyah's navigation error suddenly dropped him two minutes behind.
Thanks to starting nearly an hour after the opener, Ekström, Variawa sneaked through for his second career stage win. The first last year at 19 made him the youngest stage winner in Dakar history.
“The car was perfect on a very long stage on which it was difficult to keep up with the pace,” Variawa said. “In the dunes we navigated well while a lot of others got lost. At times we went our own way and perhaps that's where we made a difference. I'm very happy and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Variawa, following his father Shameer as a Dakar racer, suffered tire, navigation and mechanical problems on Sunday but got his Toyota back up to 13th overall with the aim of a maiden top-10 finish.
Al-Attiyah's Dacia got about 45 seconds back in the closing section to finish fifth and limit his time losses to remain the overall leader by four minutes over Ekström, whose Ford was third on the stage, and six minutes over Lategan.
Nani Roma fell from third to fourth, 9 1/2 minutes back, and Ford teammate Carlos Sainz was another minute behind. It's the closest top five after eight stages in 26 years.
The motorbikes of Sanders and Ricky Brabec were quicker in real time but the seven-plus minutes in time bonuses for opening the dusty track helped Benavides win by the same margin he did on Sunday, nearly five minutes.
“These last two stages were a little bit more fast and in these conditions I can read the roadbook super, super good and make good decisions,” Benavides said.
He has eight career motorbike stage wins, three behind his brother Kevin, the champion in 2021 and 2023.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Rider Tosha Schareina competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Rider Ricky Brabec competes during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz compete with riders David Brock, bottom right, and Fernando Dominguez, top left, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Romain Dumas and co-driver Alex Winocq compete with riders David Brock, right, and Fernando Dominguez, in the background, during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Driver Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet compete during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally with a start and finish at Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Jan.12, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
