Mumbai: Blaze in Kurla kills 70-year-old woman

The house where the blaze started in HDIL Residential Complex; (right) the complex houses project affected people. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

An early morning fire in a 12-floor structure, HDIL Residential Complex's building 7C, in Kurla West on Wednesday led to the death of a 70-year-old woman due to suffocation. Eight others suffocated and are being treated at the civic-run Rajawadi hospital. The fire started in the wiring duct of the building around 6.30 am.

According to the Mumbai Fire Bridage, a call regarding the fire was received at 6.56 am. The HDIL Residential Complex houses project-affected people (PAP). Resident Nitin Parbalkar, who resides on the eighth floor, said that when children were going to school in the morning, they noticed the smoke. "The children started screaming on seeing the fumes. All residents came out of the building. We saw smoke emanating from the wiring duct. It was very thick. Somebody called the fire bridge. They reached on time," said Parbalkar.

Sudhakar Gaikwad, a fourth-floor resident, said, "When we reached the ground, we started moving parked vehicles to make way for the fire engine. A few people stuck in the lift were rescued by residents. Some others, along with children, were stuck inside the building and rescued by the fire brigade."

The fire was extinguished at 8.42 am, and a total of 25 residents were rescued. "The primary cause of the fire was a short circuit," said a fire brigade officer. "We will issue a notice to the building to install an internal fire fighting system," the officer added.

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"People from the house opposite ours rang the bell, and when we opened the door, we saw thick smoke on the floor. The visibility was very low, and we couldn't walk properly. My brother and I took our grandparents to the terrace," said Nikhil Ramane, grandson of Shakuntala Ramane, who died in the incident. Nikhil and his family reside in room number 1201 on the 12th floor of the building.

"Sometime after reaching the terrace, my grandmother started to feel breathless. A few people took her to the ground floor. When we reached Rajawadi hospital, the doctors declared her dead," Nikhil said.

His grandfather Shivram, 74, father Pradip, 54, and brother Vinayak are among the eight residents admitted to the Rajawadi hospital for treatment.

Resident Anil Mohite claimed that the building's residents did not get support to set up a fire safety system.

"We are project-affected families of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. We are not getting any support from the civic body. We have tried to set up a fire safety system for a long time, but the authorities don't support us."

Other residents admitted to Rajawadi hospital were identified as Dinesh Jadhav, 33; Alka Jadhav, 65; Rahul Balraj, 28; Dadu Jadhav, 69; and Sachin Balraj, 29. All eight patients were in stable condition and were under observation.