A major fire broke out in one of the Mumbai‘s largest suburbs, Chembur high residential building, engulfing seven people in the mishap. The tragedy that took place on December 27 evening was one of the fourth major accident at Mumbai in the past four days. The fire started on the 11th floor of 15 storey building number 35 in wing B of Sargam Society. This  housing society is located near Ganesh Garden in Tilak Nagar Suburb, reported NDTV

Third fire in two weeks

Initially, the death toll was reported as three and later on it went up to five, out of which four of them were women. Meanwhile, three of the victims have reportedly died of smoke inhalation. According to The Times of India, around 7:50 pm the blaze started in the 11th floor flat in Sargam‘s society.

The firefighters are suspecting that a short circuit might have triggered the fire. Although, they are not sure as to what exactly has happened. After the fire started, it spread through the 13th and the 14th floor due to a cylinder explosion. It is said that gravity of fire intensified due to the cylinder blast. The firefighters say that the fire alarm system of the building did not work. Other than that, the firefighting vehicles could not get to the building soon as the lanes beside the apartment complex are too narrow.

The fire has been brought under control after three hours and several people were waiting outside the building to inform fire officials about the missing relatives. This helped them locate two people. Moreover, fireman also sustained injuries and was rushed to the hospital. A resident said, “The owner of the flat where the fire started rushed down to call others for help. But upon his return, he found that the fire had spread through the entire apartment. After a cylinder explosion occurred, spreading the fire.”

As per Hindustan Times, the firefighters found four residents on the 11th floor who were rushed to the hospital where they were declared dead. The deceased Sunita Joshi (72), Bhalchandra Joshi (72) and Suman Shrinivas Joshi (83), belongs to the same family. While the fourth member of the family, Shrinivas Joshi (86), was admitted to hospital. Another senior citizen, Lakshmiben Premji Gangar (83), died in the fire.

Dr Vidya Thakur, Medical Superintendent, Rajawadi Hospital, said, “All three casualties seem to have caused due to smoke inhalation since there are no visible burn injuries. The 86-year-old patient who has survived the incident is in a state of shock. He hasn’t suffered any burn injuries or internal complications due to smoke inhalation.” 

Fire fire everywhere

On the other hand, Mumbai is going on a spree of fire mishaps. On December 17, a significant fire at a government-run hospital ESIC Kamgar hospital at Marol in suburban Andheri killing ten people and injuring 116. A similar incident occurred on August 22 in the 17-storeyed Crystal Tower where four people lost their lives and 20 more sustained injuries. Another fire broke out at a luxury showroom adjoining the 5-star Trident hotel at Mumbai‘s Nariman Point. 

Also Read: Negligence & Faulty Rules Led To Fire In Mumbai Hospital, Killing 10 & Injuring 174