Firefighter dies while trying to douse blaze at food joint

A fireman was killed and another personnel received injuries while trying to douse a blaze that broke out at a restaurant in Maharashtra's Thane district in the early hours of Thursday, an official said.

The fire brigade got a call around 1 am about the blaze at the restaurant located near Golden Park housing society in Kalyan township, Aadharwadi fire station's sub-officer Namdeo Chowdhary said.

A team of six firemen from the Aadharwadi fire station then rushed to the spot.

While they were trying to put out the flames, an explosion took place at the food joint, killing fireman Jagan Amle (57) on the spot, Chowdhary said.

Another firefighter received burn injuries in the mishap and was admitted to a nearby hospital, he said.

The other firemen managed to control the blaze, he said, adding that cooling operation was underway at the site.

A case was registered and a probe was on to ascertain the cause of the fire, the official said.