A 24-year-old woman from Telangana’s Jangaon district died in a tragic house fire in Albany, New York, on Thursday. The victim, Sahaja Reddy Udumala, moved to the US in 2021 for higher studies and lived alone in a residential block near downtown Albany.
Preliminary reports say a fire started in a neighbouring building and spread quickly to Sahaja’s house. She was asleep when the flames entered her room and could not escape in time. Firefighters tried to reach her, but the intense blaze prevented a rescue.
The Consulate General of India in New York expressed deep sorrow over her death. In a post on X, the mission said it was supporting her family and coordinating all possible assistance.
Her death has devastated her parents, Udumula Jayakar Reddy, a TCS employee in Hyderabad, and Gopumaria Shailaja, a government school teacher. They had hoped to welcome her home after her studies and are now appealing for help to bring her body back to India.
Sahaja’s cousin, Rathna Gopu, created a GoFundMe page to support the family. The fundraiser states that Sahaja suffered severe burns covering 90 percent of her body. The funds will help manage repatriation, funeral costs, and immediate family needs.
