A fire that broke out in a five-storey residential building in South Mumbai on Thursday, 23 May, claimed the lives of two senior citizens.
The fire broke out on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Punjab Mahal Building, near Bhindi Bazaar in South Mumbai. The fire department arrived at 10:50 pm and declared it as a Level Three Fire. They were finally able to douse the fire at 2:08 am on 24 May.
While the fire department is yet to ascertain the source of the fire, at the time of break out, the fire was confined to the electric wiring, electric installation and house hold articles of the 4th and 5th Floor.
Two women senior citizen were found unconscious on the floor when the fire department arrived. Identified as Farida Master (60) and Nafeesa Geetham (60), the two were not willing to leave the house despite the heavy smoke. The officials took them to JJ Hospital but they were declared dead on arrival due to suffocation. Along with that, 2 firemen were also injured during fire fighting operations and are now being treated at JJ Hospital.
Along with that, two firefighters were also injured during fire fighting operations and are now being treated at JJ Hospital.
Residents of the building, which is part of the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust’s (SBUT) redevelopment project for the area, were set to vacate the building by mid-June. However, now they have been temporarily shifted to hostels run by SBUT across the city.
According to Hindustan Times, Chief Fire Officer P Rahangdale said that by the time they reached the spot, most residents had already vacated the building. He also visited the hospital for further inquiry.
“The firefighters rescued all those who were trapped inside and then started the firefighting operations.”P Rahangdale, Chief fire officer
Abbas Darukhanawala, secretary of the building, talking to Hindustan Times, said
“Fortunately, all the residents were awake, as we had just returned from our evening Ramzan prayers. We realised there is a fire after the entire building was filled with smoke.”
(With Inputs from Hindustan Times)
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