Six of a family critical as gas leak leads to fire

Sunil Jaiswal, 29, along with his wife Priyanka, 25, son Pratham, 5, and sisters Sunita and Anita had celebrated Mother’s Day with their mother Sakubai, 65, on Sunday evening. Sunil, Priyanka, Pratham, Sakubai, Anita’s daughter Viyeshka, 7, and Nikita Mahadik, 26, a relative, sustained severe burn injuries.

Mumbai: Four adults and two children of the Jaiswal family were rushed to Bandra’s civic-run Bhabha hospital on Monday after sustaining severe burn injuries owing to a fire caused by suspected gas leak at their one plus one chawl residence in Khar Danda. Doctors have said all the victims are in critical condition.

Mumbai, India - May 15, 2023: At least six people including two minors sustained severe burns in a gas leak-induced blast in one of the rooms of the residential building, at Koliwada, Khar (West), in Mumbai, India, on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Sunil Jaiswal, 29, along with his wife Priyanka, 25, son Pratham, 5, and sisters Sunita and Anita had celebrated Mother’s Day with their mother Sakubai, 65, on Sunday evening. Sunil, Priyanka, Pratham, Sakubai, Anita’s daughter Viyeshka, 7, and Nikita Mahadik, 26, a relative, sustained severe burn injuries.

Doctors at the Bhabha Hospital have said that all the patients are in critical condition. According to the BMC’s disaster management cell report, Sakubai and Nikita sustained 45% burn and Sunil and his wife have 50% and 51% burn injuries respectively.

Viyeshka and Nikita were transferred to the burns ward at Kasturba Hospital, Mumbai Central, in the afternoon. In the evening, Nikita and Sakubai, both on ventilator, were transferred to National Burns Centre, Airoli. The rest continue to be treated at Bhabha hospital.

National Burns Centre, Airoli said Nikita has sustained 49% burn while Sakubai has sustained 86% burn. NBC spokesperson said both have inhalation injuries and are on ventilator.

Dr Chandrakant Pawar, medical superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, said, “Both (children) have 50-60% burn. Their vitals are stable, but the prognosis is guarded. We need to assess their health condition on a day-to-day basis.”

Sanjay Manjrekar, chief fire officer said that there was a gas leakage, and the fire was ignited after a resident of the chawl lit a matchstick. “The household items caught fire and that is how residents got burnt. They were admitted to the hospital even before the fire brigade could arrive at the spot,” he said.

“We partied till late at night after which Viyeshka insisted on staying back. So, she and Nikita stayed back, and we left. In the morning, we woke up to a call from the neighbours informing us about the blast,” said Sagar Tike, Sakubai’s son-in-law. “Doctors have told us that all of them have above 70% burn injuries.”

Tike’s family and Anita’s family stay a few buildings away from where Jaiswals live. “By the time we reached, neighbours had taken them to hospitals. Sunil was taken to Holy Family Hospital and the others were brought to Bhabha Hospital. We later decided to shift Sunil also to Bhabha Hospital,” said Tike.

“As Sakubai and Nikita were closer to the source of fire, they have been kept on a ventilator,” said Tike, who added that no one has any idea how the incident took place. “All those who could tell us what happened, are unconscious. Most of those injured were sleeping after the late-night celebration,” Tike added.

Dr Sanjay Patil, medical superintendent, Bhabha Hospital said, “All of them are critical and have sustained severe burn injuries. We are waiting for the availability of beds in the burns ward for the other two injured in the mishap. Till then, we will continue to treat them in our ICU.”

According to Mumbai fire brigade officials, the fire was confined to electric wiring, installation, household articles, wooden devhara at the one plus one chawl structure.