At least one person was killed and 19 others injured in a fire that engulfed a high-rise building near the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai on Sunday, PTI reported.
The Fire and Emergency Services Department said they received a call about the fire on the third floor of the 18-storey Samrat Ashok Building on Keshavrav Khade Marg at 2.52 am. Personnel began rescue operations by 3 am and doused it by 6 am, an official said.
The official suspected that the fire may have started due to a short-circuit in the electrical wiring inside a duct on the third floor, which then spread to other floors.
“At least 96 residents were stranded in their flats due to the fire and smoke,” the official said. “A rescue operation was launched by the Fire Brigade at 3 am and 50 people from the upper floors were brought down using the staircase. Four others were saved using special devices.”
The rescued people were taken to a hospital because they had inhaled smoke, the official said, adding that 77 residents were sent home after treatment while 19 people are still admitted.
The deceased was identified as 70-year-old Laxmi Danji. Seventeen of the the injured are being treated at Nair Hospital and two are undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit at Bhatia Hospital.
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