Fire in south Mumbai high-rise; 1 person injured, 30 rescued

MUMBAI: A 57-year-old man was injured while 25 to 30 persons were rescued after a fire broke out in a 62-storey residential building in south Mumbai's Byculla area around midnight, officials said on Sunday.

The blaze erupted in a flat on the 10th floor of the Monte South building's A wing in the Khatao Mill Compound in Byculla at 11.42 pm on Saturday, a fire official said, adding smoke filled the entire floor.

Some persons were stranded on the upper floors of the building, he said.

The official said 25 to 30 persons were rescued through the staircase.

A man, identified as Pandurang Shinde, was injured, he said.

It was a "level-2" blaze which was confined to the electric wiring and installations, wooden furniture, household articles, wardrobe, mattresses, wooden beds, sofas, curtains, electronic appliances, false ceilings, doors, windows and modular kitchen of the 10th floor flat and curtains, window glass, etc of an apartment on the 11th floor, the official said.

Eight water tankers and six fire engines were rushed to the spot, the official said, adding that four hose lines and nine motor pumps were in operation.

The blaze was extinguished at 2.45 am, he said.

While firefighting, an explosion of a refrigerator compressor occurred in the kitchen of the 10th floor flat, he said.

The cause of the fire was not yet known. There were reports that the blaze erupted after suspected short-circuit in one of the flats on the 10th floor of the tower.