A fire broke out at a shopping arcade on the ground floor of Trident Hotel at Nariman Point on Wednesday night. The flames gutted the outer portion of the shop, no casualties were reported.
Eyewitnesses said what began as sparks at 10.30 p.m. escalated within minutes. As glasses and wooden boxes fell down, a team from the hotel responded first to the blaze. The Mumbai Fire Brigade rushed four fire engines and jumbo tankers to the spot. A fire officer said, “The fire began in the air conditioning unit and wall panelling of the shop. It seems to have been caused by a short-circuit. Nobody has been injured, but the damage is quite a lot.” The fire was doused at 11.30 p.m., but dense smoke continued to billow from the building. “We were passing by and saw flames emerge from this phase. One by one several cars left the premises as people gathered,” said Aman Kumar, an eyewitness.
Santosh Sawant, divisional fire officer, said, “It’s a 2,000-square feet outlet belonging to Bottega Veneta, an apparel and accessories showroom. Prima facie the fire seems to have started in the electric panel box. We have to use breathing masks to eliminate the smoke and begin the cooling process. We will launch a probe into the incident to find out how the fire broke out.”
