Mumbai: Fireman among 2 injured at blaze in Sankli hutments

Mumbai: Two persons including a fireman were injured in a major fire that broke out in the hutments of Sankli street at South Mumbai’s Madanpura area, a senior fire brigade official on Wednesday.

"Our control received a call at around 10.20 p.m. on Tuesday and 14 fire tenders were rushed to the spot," said the fire brigade chief of Mumbai civic body P S Rahangdale.

He said the blaze escalated due to a blast in LPG cylinders adding that the fire has been brought under control.

"The fire affected 50 to 60 structures on the ground-floor, and three floors above it. Areas having various footwear and bag manufacturing units, scrap godowns, shops and residential structures were damaged. A few temporary structures also collapsed due to the blaze," Rahangdale said.

"The fire engulfed the electric wiring, some installations, household articles, LPG cylinders and other valuables. During the incident, three gas cylinders exploded. Also, two LPG cylinders were found to leak which were later handed over to a gas agency," he said.

According to Rahangdale, "nuisance by public" and "vehicles parked on both sides of the road" posed difficulties for fire bridge personnel to reach the spot.

In the mishap, fireman Ashok Bane sustained a head injury while a local resident got suffocated due to the smoke. Both have been admitted to Nair hospital, officials said.

Earlier, a fire had broken out on Tuesday in the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai, but there was no casualty or major damage as the blaze-hit floor on the premises was empty at that time.