Mumbai Kamala Mills fire: Here is what eyewitnesses had to say while fire gutted 1Above pub

Mahesh Sable, Security Guard

At around 12.05 am, he was in the link room on the third floor, on the west side of the same building. He heard shouts of the people and rushed towards the lift lobby. When he reached there, he first saw people rushing from the entrance of Mojos Bistro restaurant and shouting for the escape route. Lot of people gathered in the lift lobby for their turn to go down the lift. All of a sudden, more people from the long west-east corridor of 1Above restaurant were seen rushing towards the lift lobby and shouting about fire. They were searching for way to escape. As the lift lobby was crowded and flames were seen travelling towards the lift lobby through the corridor, Sable immediately guided some of the public towards the fire escape corridor, which led to the staircase. But the Ms mesh door to the staircase was bolted. As the peripheral fire escape balcony was full of people shouting for escaping, he went ahead of them from over the peripheral railing towards the door and forcibly opened the said door and made a way for the stranded people, who escaped through staircase. Again somebody shouted, her relative was stranded in the toilet hence he went back to the Mojo Bistro restaurant and searched for those left behind in the toilet. But he found nobody. “He saw the fire was travelling fast and few persons escaped through the narrow lengthy corridor of 1Above restaurant had sustained some burn injuries, he guided them towards the staircase and led downstairs and he too went down.” After the fire officials came, he guided them through the staircase and the fire escape corridor, to take the hoseline upto the entrance lobby of both the restaurants.

Mahesh Sable

He is admitted in National Burns Centre, Airoli. He has suffered 11 percent burn injuries. He stated, he was seated in 1Above restaurant and at 12.10 am, all of a sudden he saw flames above his head at roof top through the cloth on the roof above and burning molten plastic and embers began falling down. “Hukkah was being smoked in the restaurant and it may be the cause for the fire.” Within less than a minute, the fire had travelled fast. He panicked and tried to escape from the premises but there was congestion. As the burning plastic, embers and cloth began falling on him, he sustained burn injuries. He managed to escape and come down and rushed to the hospital.

Utsav Shroff

Utsav Shroff (26). He was sitting in 1Above restaurant and saw the curtain cloth was on fire and had already flared up above the thatched roof. Within 20 seconds, the fire had propogated through the thatched roof and was spreading. He immediately started running to the common passage and came down with the help of the lift. After reaching below, he went to King Edward Memorial Hospital, with the help of an unknown passer by and later he was shifted to Bhatia Hospital.

Guarav Bhatia

Guarav Bhatia had been to 1 Above restaurant and was sitting at the north side. He states that he saw the fire starting from curtain cloth and flared up above the thatched roof. According to him the fire started spreading within fraction of seconds and he started running towards common passage and some how escape the mishap.

Kedar Gantha

He learnt of the fire after hearing someone shouting for help. Soon he started running alongwith his wife due to the panic situation, his wife was left behind.

Rishabh Parikh

Rishabh Parikh age 21 years stated that he was sitting in 1 above restaurant facing west side and lot of people were smoking cigarette and also intake of hookah in the restaurant. Also he saw fire was travelling from south east side curtain, roof and travelled towards north-west side. As such he thinks that the fire has started because of hookah or smoking material.

Mayank Parekh

Mayank Parekh age 32 years and resident of Shradha Heights, Andheri stated that he and his wife was sitting in 1Above restaurant at the north side waiting at the table for the bill being paid by the waiters of the said restaurants. Suddenly people started shouting of fire and hence he saw towards the south east direction, he noticed that the thatched roof and AC sheet partition in between 1 above and Mojo Bistro restaurants was on fire. Immediately he hold his wife and rushed towards the common passage but due to panic situation he also left his wife behind, therefore she sustained burn injuries due to falling of burning thatched roof. Thereafter he and his wife managed  to come out after opening the closed door by the security person present there.