Thane: The massive inferno that broke out at a four-storey residential cum powerloom building at Bhiwandi-Kasimpura near Thane this morning has been brought under control and all trapped people have been rescued successfully.

The Rahat Manzil building at Nagaon-Kanduada area housed powerloom on the ground floor and cloth godown on the first floor while the remaining three floors were occupied by 72 families. The fire that broke out in the cloth market soon spread to the powerloom on the ground floor following which all residents rushed to the terrace of the building. Bhiwandi Deputy Police Commissioner Sudhir Dabhade informed that over 200 people trapped on the terrace have been rescued but heavy smoke in the area was making rescue operation difficult. He said they were working closely with the fire brigade and Thane Municipal Corporation. Six to 7 water tankers from Kalyan, Thane and Bhiwandi were pressed into service to douse the fire. Presently cooling operations are on. No casualties have been reported so far but the material damage seems to be immense
  • Fire in four-storey building in Bhiwandi under control.
  • Fire intensifies in a four storey building in Bhiwandi(Maharashtra), rescue operation underway for those trapped.
 Photo: ANI

People are being rescued with the help of ladders.

  • According to Thane Police, several people are feared trapped and efforts are on to rescue them before the blaze spreads to the upper floors of the four-storied building: IANS
  • Five fire tenders reach at the spot.
  • There are no immediate reports of casualties and the cause of the fire is not yet established.
 People trapped at the terrace of the complex. The rescue operation is under-way. According reports, the fire started on the ground floor and soon spread to the other floors. Bhiwandi tehsildar Vaishali Lambhate said that residents took shelter in the terrace of the building after the fire broke out. Fire tenders from Kalyan, Thane, and four fire stations of Bhiwandi were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control, he said. About 15-20 people in the building were shifted to the top floor as a precautionary measure since cooling operations were underway on the ground floor, he said. The fire broke out at around 7.30 AM in the godown and spread in other rooms on the ground floor, he said. The presence of oil drums at the place led to the fire spreading in other rooms, he said. Once the cooling operations are through, those trapped in the building would be brought down, Gaikwad said. Short-circuit was suspected to be the cause of the blaze. However, the official said the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. Senior officials of the civic body, fire brigade and police department were at the spot