Four killed, nine injured in Navi Mumbai high-rise fire

A major fire broke out shortly after midnight on Tuesday at an apartment complex in Navi Mumbai’s Vashi, killing four persons, including a six-year-old girl, and injuring nine others, said officials of the fire department.

The blaze began between 12.30 a.m. and 12.40 a.m. in flat number 1004 on the 10th floor of Raheja Residency, MGM Complex. Officials said preliminary investigation revealed that an electrical short-circuit in an air conditioner of flat 1004 caused the fire that quickly spread to the 11th and 12th floors of the 13-storey building. The building has four flats on each floor.

Firefighters reached the spot around 1.20 a.m. and brought the blaze under control by 4 a.m. Officials said the operation involved four fire engines. They said teams from Airoli, Koperkhairane, Vashi and MIDC fire brigades responded to the emergency.

“Four fire tenders were deployed, and each vehicle carried seven firemen, one officer and one driver, bringing the total strength to 40 personnel. Firefighters battled thick smoke and flames for nearly four hours before the blaze was contained. The rescue operation was difficult as it happened at midnight when people were asleep. Some people were stuck in the smoke and fell unconscious,” said an official from the fire department.

The fire claimed the lives of Sumit John Topno, 18, Vedika Sundar Balakrishnan, 6, Sundar Balakrishnan, 44, and Pooja Rajan, 39.

Nine residents sustained injuries and were rushed to hospitals in Vashi. Officials said Manbendra Bhimcharan Ghosh, 69, Malika Ghosh, 58, and Ritika Ghosh, 39, all from flat 1106, were rushed to the Hiranandani Fortis Hospital.

Bhavana Mahavir Jain, 49, Mahavir Hiralal Jain, 51, and Krish Mahavir Jain, 21, from flat 1005, and Nirmal Hiralal Jain, 53, and Mehul Hiralal Jain, 32, from flat 1103, and Damayanti Hemchandra Agarwal, 80, from flat 1105, were taken to MGM New Bombay Hospital.