Hyderabad, May 30 -- Family members of the 17 victims who lost their lives in the Gulzar House fire have demanded a formal inquiry into the incident, alleging lapses by both the fire department and hospital authorities.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Santosh Gupta, a relative of one of the deceased, accused the fire department of not responding promptly to the emergency and claimed that fire personnel were not equipped with adequate apparatus to handle the situation.

Another family member, Nitish Gupta, alleged that medical assistance at the hospital was also delayed.

"There was no paramedical staff in the ambulance. All the casualties occurred due to suffocation," the family members said, expressing deep frustration over th...