Advertisement
Mumbai: Tragedy strikes after major fire engulfs a 24-story residential building in south Mumbai’s Byculla, suffocating nearly nine people. According to officials, the incident occurred at a 24-storey residential building in the Byculla area on Thursday. The blaze erupted at 3.40 am on the third floor of the building located in New Hind Mill Compound at MHADA colony in the Ghodapdeo area of Byculla where the government has given flats to people, mainly mill workers.
The nine people, including five senior citizens, have been swiftly rushed to the civic-run KEM Hospital and kept under observation. They have been recognized at Lakshmi Raut (70), Archana More (75), Parvatibai Tambole (85), Lata Tambole (67), Pranay Tambole (28), Archana Nilesh More, Mumtaz (60), Abhish (36) and Vishal Vijay More (34).
After a massive blaze was reported, the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) responded promptly to a Level-I fire. The incident was reported at 3:43 hrs, and MFB declared the incident Level-I at 4:09 hrs. The cause of the fire is yet ascertained, even as the residents above slept unawares.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: Fire broke out on the third floor of a 24-storey building in the Mhada colony, Byculla. Five fire service vehicles arrived at the spot doused the fire and rescued 135 people safely: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation#Mumbai #MHADAcolony #Byculla… pic.twitter.com/Fdreafn0J2
— mishikasingh (@mishika_singh) November 23, 2023
Initiating a massive rescue operation, the MFB and others were able to rescue approximately 136 residents who were stranded on the upper floors of the building. According to the BMC Disaster Control, they rescued 25 individuals from the terrace, 30 from the 15th-level refuge floor, and 80 from the 22nd floor.
The fire was confined to the electric metre cabin, electric wire, electric cable, and electric installation, and scrap material in electric ducts, garbage and refuse material in garbage ducts stretching from the 1st to the 24th floors, MFB reported. He said at least 135 people were rescued from different floors of the building.
It took almost 4 hours to control the situation
After battling the blaze for more than four hours, it was ultimately doused at about 07:20 hrs, with no fatalities reported, civic body confirmed. Out of them, 25 were evacuated from the terrace, 30 from a refuge area on the 15th floor, and 80 people from a refuge area on the 22nd floor of the building.
Five fire engines and three water tankers along with other fire brigade vehicles were reached to the spot after receiving the call and controlled the situation by 7.20 am, a fire brigade official said.
A civic official said that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, but a short-circuit is suspected to have triggered it.
