Fumes claimed all lives, not flames: Docs

A massive fire at a pub killed 14 people, most of them women, and injured 21, shortly after midnight in Kamala Mill Compound. Most of the victims, who included 11 women, died of asphyxiation.

Survivors claimed that the restaurants became death traps due to untrained staff, the absence of prominent exit signs and lack of ventilation turned the place into a deadly gas chamber.

The head of KEM hospital Forensic Department said that there were no burn injuries on the body of the victims. “Fire spreads upwards and in this case, the roof of the restaurant was made of tarpaulin, bamboos and other plastic material which, after burning, creates carbon monoxide which is deadly for humans,” said Dr Harish Pathak.

However, the blood samples of the victims were preserved and sent for chemical analysis for further evaluation. Experts said that the cherry red colour of the blood was a clear indication of synthetic poisoning of the victims.

“Carbon monoxide, combined with haemoglobin, restricts the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, giving it a darker cherry red colour,” Dr Pathak said.

“Prima facie, we could not ascertain the levels of alcohol in victim’s blood so we will wait for the reports of Kalina Forensic Laboratory to see if inebriation could also be one of the causes which deterred them from quickly escaping the building,” Dr Pathak added.