Six people were killed and 24 injured after a fire broke out on the 19th floor of a 20-storey building in the Tardeo area in south Mumbai on Saturday. Six of the injured are in a critical condition.
According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the fire was reported from the “Kamala building” (also known as Sachinam Heights) at 7.28 a.m.
The fire brigade arrived around 7.42 a.m. and doused the blaze after around six hours. Thirteen fire engines and seven jumbo tankers were deployed.
According to the residents, they heard a loud sound around 7 a.m. and black smoke started coming out from the top floors and they rushed to run outside for safety. The lights in the building went off. The explosion of an air-conditioner compressor could have led to the blaze.
Some trapped in smoke
There are six flats on each floor. While some residents rushed outside, others were trapped in the smoke. Many were sleeping when the explosion took place.
Maharashtra Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray visited the spot and said that prima facie , a short circuit appeared to have caused the fire.
Speaking to presspersons, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that a detailed investigation into the tragedy will be conducted, and Mr. Thackeray and Mumbai city’s Guardian Minister Aslam Sheikh, would monitor the probe.
Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has formed a committee that will submit a report in 15 days on the reasons behind the fire, and whether there were any unapproved changes in building design.
Mr. Thackeray said the State government would give ₹5 lakh compensation to the families of those who lost their lives in the fire. The Prime Minister’s Office, too, expressed grief and announced ₹2 lakh as compensation to the kin of the deceased, and ₹50,000 to each injured person.
Mr. Thackeray, while speaking to reporters, said the civic body plans to extend training to citizens in high-rise buildings on the techniques of fire-fighting in case of an emergency.
According to Vikram Mehta, managing director, SPARTAN Engineering Industries, the tragedy has exposed Mumbai’s reality of not having adequate fire evacuation mechanisms in place for high-rise buildings. “Every high-rise building must have a fire evacuation lift. The installation of evacuation lifts in buildings has been made mandatory since 2018 by the civic body and the same has been mentioned in the DCPR 2020, but till date many real estate developers and builders are seen to be dodging the rules.”
According to the BMC, the municipal authority has already served notices to 223 high-rise buildings for not maintaining fire fighting equipments.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that many hospitals in the vicinity of the building refused treatment to injured victims of the fire. Mr. Thackeray stated that hospitals denied it and said they provided treatment for them.
