A fire at a residential building late Friday night in downtown Batha claimed the lives of seven foreign workers and injured two others. The cause of death of six Indians and one Nepalese national is said to be due to smoke inhalation. The deceased, all employees of a supermarket, were sleeping when the fire broke out at about 2.30 A.M. Friday. Mohammed Ali Manappath, who suffered severe burns, is recovering in Shumaisy General Hospital while Niyas Muvvattpuzha was discharged after receiving first aid. The exact cause of the blaze is not known but according to eyewitnesses it started in the kitchen on the top floor of a four-floor residential building accommodating about 80 workers. Timely intervention by Muhammad Sabeel, 30, also an employee of the supermarket, saved the lives of other occupants. Sabeel said he arrived home at about 12 midnight after his shift. He had his supper and watched television. “There was a strong burning smell and I immediately rushed out of my room. It didn't take much to discover that there was fire in the attic of the building,” he said. The first thing Sabeel did was to alert the occupants to evacuate the building. He said it was not clear why the fire spread so quickly but perhaps a cooking gas cylinder had blown up in the kitchen. A Civil Defense team of firefighters took two hours to extinguish the blaze. The police cordoned off the area and residents in a nearby building were also evacuated. According to sources, each room in the workers' accommodation has about 12 beds. The attic was also used as accommodation and a kitchen was built in that area, which is against the municipality's safety laws. __
