Hyderabad, May 18 -- An eyewitness to the fire that broke out at a building at Gulzar Houz in Hyderabad early on Sunday morning, in which 17 people, including eight children, were killed, said that the blaze was at the rear end of the building.

The eyewitness, Zahid, also detailed the efforts of local people to save the people stuck in the building.

"We could not enter the building through the main gate as it was engulfed in flames, so we broke the shutter to go inside. Then, five to six of us broke through a wall and entered the first floor. But the whole place was engulfed in flames. The police and fire tenders did good work and cooperated fully. But we could not save the people because of the massive fire," he said.

"The fire was ma...