Two workers died of alleged smoke inhalation after they were trapped inside a lift while trying to escape a fire at a polyester staple fibre manufacturing plant at Kakatiya Mega Textile Park in Warangal district early on Thursday.
The fire was reported at around 2.10 a.m. at the Polyester Staple Fibre Plant area of Ganesha Ecopet Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ganesha Ecosphere.
Three fire tenders were rushed to the facility and fire-fighting operations continued until around 5.30 a.m., when the blaze was brought under control.
Preliminary information suggests that the fire first broke out on the fourth floor, allegedly following a leak in an oil chamber connected to a manufacturing machine.
The two deceased workers, identified as Vinod Prajapathi and Surya Prakash, both aged around 25, were working on the ground floor when they heard the commotion and attempted to escape.
The workers are suspected to have entered a lift while trying to move to a higher floor. The lift stopped around the fourth floor, where they are believed to have noticed the flames and moved up to the fifth floor. The power supply was subsequently cut off by an automatic safety mechanism triggered by the fire.
With the lift immobilised and its door reportedly ajar, the two men were unable to get out and are suspected to have remained trapped inside as smoke and fumes filled the area.
The bodies were discovered around 6.30 a.m. during a combing operation after the fire-fighting teams had brought the fire under control. The workers were found unconscious inside the lift at the level of the fifth floor and were later declared dead.
In a regulatory filing on Friday, Ganesha Ecosphere confirmed the deaths, saying the two workmen had lost their lives due to smoke inhalation after being trapped inside the lift.
The company expressed regret over the incident and said it would provide all necessary support to the families of the deceased workers.
The exact cause of the fire and the circumstances that led to the workers becoming trapped are being investigated.
Published – August 14, 2026 09:39 pm IST
