Seven firemen injured in blaze at Navi Mumbai high-rise

Seven firemen were injured during a firefighting operation after a major blaze broke out in a 21- storey residential building in Navi Mumbai on Saturday morning, officials said.

The fire, which was triggered by an explosion of a gas cylinder, broke out in a duplex flat located on the top two floors of Sea Home Apartment in Seawoods near Palm Beach Road, the officials said.

All the seven injured were admitted to the National Burns Centre (NBC) in Airoli, where three of them are in the intensive care unit (ICU), they added.

"A cylinder blast in the duplex flat, spread over the top two floors, triggered the fire around 6.30 am," chief of the Navi Mumbai Disaster Control Room, Dadasaheb Chabukswar, said.

According to Santosh Kadam, head of the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), six fire engines from Nerul, CBD Belapur and Vashi fire stations were sent to the site to control the fire.

"At least seven firemen were injured during the firefighting operation. They were admitted to the NBC in Airoli. Three of them are in ICU as their injuries are serious," Chabukswar said.

The fire has been doused and cooling operation is underway, he said.

The injured were identified as station officer V D Koli (50), assistant station officer J P Gade (40) (both from Nerul Fire Station) and five firemen- J B Bhoye (40), D N Jawale (43), S L Joshi (43), M T Pawar (40) and B A Thakrey (39)- belonging to different fire stations, Chabukswar added.

Investigation into the incident is on, he said.