Five feared dead as fire breaks out in Mumbai high-rise: Reports

Five people are feared dead in a fire that broke out in a residential high-rise building in Mumbai, according to media reports on Thursday evening. The number of casualties could not be verified independently.  

News agency PTI, while citing an unnamed civic official, confirmed that three people, including two women, died and one person was injured in the fire.  

The 16-storey building is located in suburban Tilak Nagar, where a search and rescue operation by the Mumbai Fire Brigade is underway, the official from the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told PTI.

"Our fire brigade control room got information about the incident at 7.51 pm after which our fire-fighting team along with an ambulance rushed to the spot," he added. 

"The blaze started on the 10th floor of the building, Sargam Society (G+16), located near Ganesh Garden in Tilak Nagar," he said.

The fire brigade team rescued four people from the floor and admitted them to the nearby Rajawadi Hospital, where three people, including two women, were declared dead by the hospital authorities, the official said. 

The fourth person, who received injuries, was undergoing treatment at the hospital, he said.

The fire had been brought under control, but its cause would be known only after an inquiry, the official added.