At least 6 killed, 23 injured in Mumbai building fire

MUMBAI: At least six people were killed and 23 others injured in a major fire that broke out on the 19th floor of a residential building in Tardeo area of central Mumbai on Saturday morning, officials said.

The blaze erupted around 7 am at Sachinam Heights, a ground-plus-20-storey building located opposite Bhatia Hospital at Gowalia Tank when many of the residents were still asleep, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident and announced on Twitter that ex-gratia assistance of Rs 2 lakh would be provided to the family members of each deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), and the injured would be given Rs 50,000 each.

Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, who is also the guardian minister of Mumbai suburban district, visited the site and said the state government will provide a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family members of each deceased. The blaze appeared to have been caused by a short-circuit, he said. Some residents of the building alleged that three nearby private hospitals refused to admit injured persons without advance deposit payment and negative COVID-19 certificates. BJP leader and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleged that due to these hospitals turning away the victims, the death toll increased.