The iconic Secunderabad Club, which has been in existence since 1878, was totally gutted following a massive fire on Sunday, police said.
Secunderabad Club is an elite club and one of the five oldest clubs in India and it was established by British Army. The club was originally was known as Secunderabad Gymkhana Club. Sir Salar Jung Bhahadur II, the donor Secunderabad Club premises as a hunting lodge. The Secunderabad Club is probably one of the few clubs in the world which has its own Sailing Annexe and the club that has its own printing press in India.
According to police officials, club security had informed them about the incident at around 2.30 a.m.
Police vehicles on patrol duty also noticed the flames and reached the spot around the time.
As many as eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot and battled for hours to extinguish the flames.
The heritage structure is spread over 60,000 sq. ft and is made up of three floors.
According to initial reports, the fire began on the first floor and quickly spread to the remaining floors.
The administrative sections of the club are located on the first floor. The gutted main building also housed the reception, dining, ballroom, and kitchen areas.
The rapid spread of the fire is being attributed to the extensive use of wood in the heritage building.
Initial estimates peg the damage to property at around Rs 20 crore.
