Maharashtra: 60 Rescued After Mumbai Building Catches Fire, 39 Hospitalised

The fire started on the ground floor of a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building located opposite Kohinoor Hospital in Kurla, Mumbai.

The flames rose the smoke engulfed the building making residents of the building panic. (Representative image)

Source : Representational Image/Getty

Sixty people were rescued from a 12-storey building in Mumbai’s Kurla area after a fire broke out on the ground floor. Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and pulled out the people from the building. As many as 39 people had to be admitted to the hospital after they complained of breathing difficulties. The incident occurred around 12.10 AM at the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building number 7 located opposite Kohinoor Hospital. No death was reported in the incident. 

Four fire engines had to be deployed to bring the blaze under control. "The blaze erupted soon after midnight. On being alerted about it, a team of fire brigade personnel along with four engines, as many jumbo tankers, and other equipment reached the spot and started the firefighting operation," a fire brigade official told PTI.

It was reported that the fire started from the ground floor of the 12-storey building and was confined to the electric wiring and scrap material that was there. The fire was said to be a ‘level-one’ (minor) fire. However, as the flames rose through the building, it was engulfed in smoke which triggered panic among the people living there.  

The fire personnel cut the power supply and worked on extinguishing the fire. The blaze was brought under control by 1:45 AM. Fire officials said that around 60 residents who were stuck on different floors of the building had to be rescued by the fire brigade using the staircase. After being rescued 39 people had complained of breathing difficulties and were transferred to two different hospitals. Their conditions are said to be stable now. 

"Fifty to sixty residents stranded on different floors of the building were rescued by the fire brigade staff using the staircase. Due to the smoke, 39 of the rescued persons complained of suffocation, of whom 35 were admitted to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital, while four others were taken to Kohinoor Hospital," he said.

The reason behind the Kurla building fire is yet to be ascertained.