At least 12 dead as fire breaks out at Saki Naka area in Mumbai

Mumbai : At least 12 employees of a ‘farsan’ shop on the Khairani Road in Saki Naka were confirmed dead after being trapped in a fire that broke out at the shop in Mumbai in the early hours of Monday.

Fire Brigade officials said that the fire broke out at the Bhanu Farsan shop in the Makhariya Compound on the Khairani Road on Monday morning. The Fire Brigade control room received a call at around 4:17 a.m. and sent three fire engines and four jumbo tankers to the spot, which reached by 4:38 a.m. The fire was extinguished within ten minutes, and inquiries with nearby residents established that several workers at the shop were sleeping inside when the fire broke out.

“The fire started at the ground floor-level and the people inside were sleeping on the loft. They got trapped in the 60 by 30 feet structure due to the intense heat and smoke and the loft subsequently collapsed,” said Chief Fire Officer P.S. Rahangdale, Mumbai Fire Brigade.

After cooling operations were complete, officials started sifting through the wrecked shop for victims and removed 12 charred bodies from the wreckage.

Officials with the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation confirmed that 12 unidentified dead bodies had been sent to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar.

The Saki Naka police are now working on identifying the deceased as well as probing to find out the fire safety measures taken by the shop owner. The Fire Brigade will soon be submitting its report to the police regarding the cause of the fire, which is, prima facie, believed to have started due to a short circuit.