Hyderabad: The first floor of a restaurant at RTC crossroads was completely gutted on Tuesday morning. According to officials, an electrical short circuit caused the blaze at the Astoria restaurant. It was quickly brought under control and was prevented from obliterating a neighbouring boys’ hostel which had over 200 residents at the time.

District fire officer M. Srinivasa Reddy told the press that the fire almost went unnoticed during the early hours. “At around six in the morning, traffic personnel noticed the blaze and informed the fire control room. We immediately dispatched two fire tenders from Musheerabad and the Secretariat fire stations,” he said.

There are several businesses next to the restaurant and fire officials say they had to make sure the blaze didn’t affect other enterprises. Emergency crews evacuated the 260 residents from the boys’ hostel. The property loss has been estimated to be about Rs 15 lakh.