NEW DELHI: 14 people were killed when a huge blaze tore through a popular restaurant in Mumbai's Kamala Mills early on Friday, in the latest disaster to raise concerns over the enforcement, or lack thereof, of fire safety regulations.
The fire, which also left 21 people injured, started after 12.30 am at the '1 Above' pub and quickly spread to 'Mojo Bistro' pub on the third floor, before engulfing the entire building in about 30 minutes.
11 of the 14 victims were young women who were attending a birthday party on the rooftop when the fire broke out. Doctors said they died of asphyxiation, apparently as they tried to flee the burning building.
Night of revelry turns into horror
Khushbu Bansali, who turned 29 on the 29th, was celebrating her birthday with a big group of friends and colleagues. The merriment soon turned into mayhem as the fire broke out shortly after midnight, reducing the restaurant to a heap of smouldering bamboo and wood.
Unable to find a way out, the women took refuge in the restaurant's washroom, only to be smothered to death by the smoke and fumes.
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A distraught Babulal Mehta, Khushbu's grandfather, blamed the "irresponsible" hotel management and the civic authorities.
"The hotel had put up a temporary structure supported by bamboo, with the possibility of catching fire. There was no fire extingushing facility either. It is the responsibility of the police and civic authorities act against any violations," he said.
'They tried to save lives, gave up their own'
Brothers Dhairya and Vishwa Lalani, both in their 20s, had gone to the restaurant for dinner.
Their cousin Viral Chheda said the two men were seated near the exit and managed to escape, but went back in after realising their aunt was missing. She was also among the victims.
Brothers Dhairya and Vishwa Lalani (Image courtesy: Twitter/@fadnavis_amruta)
"They tried to save lives and gave up their own. The fire was on a massive scale," Chheda told AFP.
Nearly 200 mourners attended the men's last rites, and several expressed concern and anger about safety standards in the city.
Survivor recounts ordeal
Dr Sulbha KG Arora, a Mumbai doctor, recalls being pushed and trampled on as she tried to escape the burning building.
"There was a stampede and someone pushed me. People were running over me even as the ceiling above me was collapsing in flames. Still don't know how I got out alive," she said in a tweet."
Live updates: Fire at Mumbai's Kamala Mills
Narrow escape for news channel employees
15 employees of TV9 Marathi channel, who were working the night shift, had a providential escape after the roof of the building collapsed and blocked the entrance to their office.
Sanjay Jadhav, a programme producer with the news channel, raised the alarm and all employees quickly evacuated through the fire exit. He and his colleagues saw the temporary roof made of bamboo burning and falling down to the ground floor.
"Had we been late by 5-10 minutes, we would have been trapped inside. It was a narrow escape for us," Jadhav told PTI.
Kamala Mills fire: Pub flouted fire safety norms, obstacles found in emergency exit
Even before the ashes of the gutted building cooled down, the blame game had begun. Maharashtra chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis promised action against errant civic officials and the owners of the
1 Above pub, where the fire is suspected to have been triggered by an electrical short-circuit.
Opposition
Congress slammed the Mumbai civic administration and the state government for the blaze and demanded a high-level probe into the tragedy. Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam said the fire was a result of "clear violation of fire and safety norms".
The
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) suspended five of its officials in connection with the fire. The civic body was quick to clarify that it had sent several notices to the joints at the Kamala Mills compound for violation of norms.
1 Above management claimed the blaze started from the adjoining property and said it had all the necessary approvals and safety norms in place. It also blamed Mojo's Bistro on the floor below for not having an emergency exit, leading to overcrowding of 1 Above's escape avenues.
A preliminary case has been lodged against Hratesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Manka of C Grade Hospitality, which manages the pub, along with others, under various charges including cuplable homicide not amounting to murder.
(With inputs from Agencies)
The building in Kamala Mills compound where a massive fire broke out on Friday.
