A 25-year-old Indian student from the southern state of Telangana was killed in Germany on New Year’s Day after leaping from an upper-floor apartment in a desperate attempt to escape a rapidly spreading fire, turning what should have been a season of celebration into profound grief for his family, reported by NDTV.
Hruthik Reddy, a master’s student in Germany, suffered fatal head injuries after jumping from his residence as thick smoke and flames engulfed the building late Wednesday night. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in Berlin, where he died while undergoing treatment, according to officials.
Back home in Malkapur village in Telangana’s Jangaon district, the tragedy has cast a pall over a family that had been eagerly awaiting his return for the Sankranti festival. Instead of welcoming their son home, relatives are now preparing to receive his body in the new year.
Reddy had moved to Germany in June 2023 to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Europe, after graduating from Vaagdevi College of Engineering in 2022. He had postponed an earlier visit during the Dasara festival, planning to return to India in mid-January to celebrate Sankranti with his family.
German authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which broke out at the apartment complex where Reddy was living. Details about how the blaze started or whether other residents were injured have not yet been released.
In Telangana, the victim’s family and friends have contacted India’s Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Germany, seeking assistance to expedite the repatriation of his remains for final rites.
The incident adds to a string of recent tragedies involving Telugu students overseas. Last month, a 24-year-old woman from the same district, Sahaja Reddy Udumala, died in a house fire in Albany, New York. She had moved to the United States in 2021 for higher studies and was reportedly asleep when a fire from a neighboring building spread to her home.
