Hyderabad Gulzar Houz Fire Accident: “We’re trapped, please save us”, best friend recalls the victim’s phone call as hell rages

On May 18, 2025, charred remains attraction after the fire broke out in Gulzar Houz near Charminar, Hyderabad. Image source: ANI

Just minutes after 17 members of the Modi family were killed in the fire broke out in Gulzar Houz in Charminar, Hyderabad, they frantically called close friends for help.

“I got a call from Pankaj (Modi) at 6.10 am and he was panicked and asked for help,” said Syed Iqbal, a close friend of the bracelet seller and family member who has known them for more than two decades. Iqbal recalled: “We were trapped here. There was no way to leave. Please help.” Since then, the voice has echoed in his mind.

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“I called the ambulance immediately. They came in about ten minutes. The fire tender arrived shortly after that. But it was too late. The thick black smoke and flames engulfed the whole house.”

Hell erupts in a residential building near Gulzar Houz, capturing families. Among them, 36-year-old Pankaj has managed to step out of the burning home to check if the help is arrived. But the cry of his children, his wife’s thoughts were still trapped inside, pulling him back. He never came out again.

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Meanwhile, Dilbagh Singh, a frequent visitor to the family’s pearl store, heard the whispers of the incident. Anxiety, he called Pankaj’s brother Govinda.

The answer is hollow. “Bhaiya Chale Gaye…Behene Bhi Nahi Rahin,” (My brothers are no longer sisters, and the sisters said quietly. Just the night before, the family met at an event. Govinda asked the family to stay overnight. But they had already left around 11pm,” Mr Singh explained.