Nine people had to go through suffocation after a 24-storey residential building had caught fire. The incident took place in the Byculla area of Mumbai on Thursday, officials said. The nine people who were injured also included five senior citizens. They were therefore admitted to a hospital and kept under observation, they said.
The fire erupted at 3.40 am on the third floor of the building which was located in New Hind Mill Compound at MHADA colony in the Ghodapdeo area of Byculla. It is a place where the government has given flats to people, mainly mill workers, the officials stated.
Although, the fire was confined to the electric metre cabin, cable, wiring and the scrap material present in the electric duct, garbage and material in the garbage duct from the 1st to 24th floor of the building, a civic official said.
The civic volunteer also added that at least 135 people were rescued by the fire brigade from different floors of the building. Out of the 135, 25 people were evacuated from the terrace while 30 people from a refuge area which was on the 15th floor, and the rest 80 people from a refuge area on the 22nd floor of the building, he said.
There were five people among the nine people who were senior citizens and therefore aged 60 and above. The older people suffered from suffocation. All of them were admitted to the civic-run KEM Hospital in Parel and kept under observation, officials said.
The ones who had fallen victim to the blaze have been identified as Lakshmi Raut (70), Parvatibai Tambole (85), Lata Tambole (67),Archana More (75), Archana Nilesh More, Pranay Tambole (28), Mumtaz (60), Abhish (36) and Vishal Vijay More (34), a civic official said.
There were three water tankers along with five fire engines who had reached the spot immediately. While, there were other fire brigade vehicles also which were thereby were rushed to the spot after receiving the call. With the help of the rescuers and the fire fighters, the blaze was brought under control and was doused by 7.20 am, a fire brigade official said. As of yet, the cause of the fire is not yet known, but a short-circuit is most likely to have taken place, a civic official added.
