Fire ravages two Mumbai slums

A fire broke out in two slums in Bandra and Andheri suburbs on Tuesday reducing scores of hutments to ashes, officials here said, adding that there were no human casualties.

The first fire broke out around 12 noon in Bandra west's Nargis Dutt slum followed by over half a dozen deafening explosions as gas cylinders exploded.

At least 25 fire tenders were pressed into service along with a large Mumbai Fire Brigade contingent which managed to bring the blaze under control within two hours.

As per a preliminary assessment, at least 50 hutments were destroyed as hundreds of slum-dwellers lost their homes.

The second fire was reported around 1 p.m. from the Anand Nagar slum in Andheri west where scores of hutments went up in flames as the fire spread rapidly. Four fire-tenders were battling the blaze for nearly two hours.

The cause of the fires was not clear yet.

--IANS

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