Mumbai: Fire breaks out in residential building in Kurla, 39 people admitted to hospital

A fire broke out in a 12-storey residential building in Kurla area of Mumbai shortly after midnight on Saturday, following which the fire brigade rescued around 60 people living there, an official said.

BMC said, Fire broke out in a building in Mumbai's Kurla area. Fire brigade personnel reached the spot as soon as information about the fire was received and rescued around 50-60 people from different floors, out of which 39 people were admitted to the nearby hospital. Fire has been controlled. Reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained.

The incident occurred around 12.10 am in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building number 7 located opposite Kohinoor Hospital, he said, adding that 39 of the rescued persons were admitted to hospitals after they complained of suffocation. The blaze erupted soon after midnight. On being alerted about it, a team of fire brigade personnel along with four water engines, as many jumbo tankers and other equipment reached the spot and started the firefighting operation, a fire brigade official said.

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 fire started from the ground floor of the 12-storey building and was confined to the electric wiring and scrap material kept there. It was a ‘level one’ (minor) fire. As the flames moved upwards and the building was engulfed in smoke, it triggered panic among the residents, the official said. The fire brigade personnel cut off the electricity supply and extinguished the fire by around 1.45 am, he said.