Major blaze in Mumbai building; three hurt, four rescued

A major fire occurred in a four-storey building in Masjid area of south Mumbai in the wee hours on Saturday, officials said, adding three personnel were injured during the 12-hour operation in which four persons were rescued from upper floors before the flames were doused.

The fire was put out around 4:45 pm and cooling operations were on, they said.

Mumbai fire brigade chief P S Rahangdale said a major disaster was averted as firemen and machines, including a robot, worked together.

"The fire brigade control room received a call at 4.24 am today, alerting that a major fire has broken out in Navrang building located on Abdul Rehman street," Rahangdale said.

Four fire fighting jets were rushed to the scene immediately, he said, adding that around 150 firemen attended the call.

"The blaze had started on the ground floor. It was confined to the electric wiring and some stationary articles kept on the loft and the mezzanine floor. Due to the fire, dense smoke engulfed the building, causing poor visibility during the rescue operation," Rahangdale said.

The fire brigade personnel safely rescued a man and three woman stranded at the upper floors of the ground plus four-storey commercial cum residential building, he said, adding that three firemen were injured during fire-fighting.

"Eight fire fighting jets, including a Robot, an exhaust blower and thermal imaging camera were used for putting out flames," Rahangdale said.

He said dense smoke in the building and zero visibility posed challenge to the fire personnel.

"A major disaster was averted as firemen and machines worked together in the fire-fighting operations. No loss to life is reported," Rahangdale added.

The cause of blaze will be known after investigation, another official said.