Four staffers killed in Mumbai IndusInd Bank blaze

Four young staffers of the IndusInd Bank were burnt to death in a major fire that broke out after an explosion in the bank's building in suburban Andheri East in the Maharashtra capital early Friday, officials said.

The fire broke out in a back office section of the bank in its multi-storeyed building in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area around 11.30 p.m. Thursday.

The city fire brigade rushed to the scene of the blaze and rescued many of the 20-odd employees trapped inside. However, some staffers ran helter-skelter in panic, lost their sense of direction, and could not be saved, fire officials said.

Early Friday, four employees were found dead. Seven employees were injured, some seriously.

The dead were identified as Atanu Laha, 35, Rakesh Shirkar, 24, Rohan Katkare, 25, and Sandeep Naik, 25.

The injured have been admitted to Seven Hills Hospital nearby.

The cause of the explosion and the blaze has not yet been established.

"We are giving the best possible medicare to all the injured staffers and making necessary arrangements for the victims," a bank spokesperson told IANS.