Nine injured in fire triggered by gas leak in Chembur chawl; three critical

Suresh rushed to Rajawadi Hospital after his friends called him informing him about the blast at his house. “My wife, my brother, his wife, his son, my mother, my granddaughter were all admitted. My wife Yashoda and mother Narmada are said to be critical and shifted to KEM Hospital-Parel

Mumbai: Nine persons, including four women, were injured in a fire that broke out after a gas leak in Chembur’s Siddharth Colony chawl at around 11:40pm. Three of the injured persons have suffered more than 50% burns and are critical. Out of the nine, seven are from the same family who were having dinner when the blast occurred.

Mumbai, India - Feb. 2, 2024: A fire broke out in a house in Siddharth Colony located in the Chembur area of Mumbai due to a cylinder blast, last night. 9 people were injured in the fire. All the injured have been admitted in Mumbai, India, on Friday, February 2, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Suresh Gaikwad, 64, who works as a security guard and was out on duty said his family was having dinner when the incident took place. “The dinner is cooked by 8.30-9 pm but we all sit to have dinner together around 11pm. I am told that they heard a weird sound from the gas cylinder before the blast. We have no idea what led to the fire and the blast,” he said.

Suresh rushed to Rajawadi Hospital after his friends called him informing him about the blast at his house. “My wife, my brother, his wife, his son, my mother, my granddaughter were all admitted. My wife Yashoda and mother Narmada are said to be critical and shifted to KEM Hospital-Parel,” he said.

Dr Bharati Rajulwala, medical superintendent of Rajawadi Hospital said while Narmada had 90% burn injuries Yashoda had 50% burn injuries.

“They both needed tertiary care and that is why we shifted them to KEM Hospital. Among the others admitted to us, Ramesh has 60% burn injuries. Most of his burn injuries are on the upper part but he is stable. The others admitted with us are also stable but in a state of shock,” she said.

Doctors at KEM Hospital said both Narmada and Yashoda are under observation and remain critical.

Suresh’s granddaughter, Shreyash Sonkhambe, who is 10, was admitted to Sion Hospital with 30 to 40% burns. The fire took place in a slum but was only restricted to one house.

The fire official in charge at the site said that some gas had leaked, and a spark led to the cylinder exploding, due to which the neighbouring houses were also damaged. “Two people who came ahead to help them also got hurt. One of them was Sanjay Jadhav, who when he went into the house, a cement sheet or brick fell on his head and he had to get stitches. Another, Shreyas Sonkhambe, 17, got burn injuries when he tried to go to their rescue and was also admitted to Rajawadi Hospital initially,” he said.