One dead and four injured in a massive fire at Bhayander East

One person died, four injured in a major fire at Azad Nagar, Bhayander East. Massive fire engulfed commercial shops and houses. 24 fire tenders deployed.

Mumbai: One person died in a major fire at Azad Nagar in Bhayander East on Wednesday morning. Four people, including two fire man and one child, were injured in the incident that occurred around 5 am, the fire brigade said.

One dead and four injured in a massive fire at Bhayander East

The deceased has been identified as Pappu Chaurasiya, 42. The blaze was extinguished after 6 hours. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) officials said the fire was confined to a 400 square metre area. The fire engulfed commercial shops and more than 30 houses in the area.

The fire was so massive that additional firefighting vehicles had to be brought in from the nearby municipal corporations.

Help was sought from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Thane Municipal Corporation, and Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation.

A total of 24 fire tenders and 24 water tankers were pressed into service. The officials said that he lanes of the slums were congested, making it difficult for the fire tenders to reach the spot.

Deputy municipal commissioner of MBMC, Sanjay Shinde, said, “Two firemen were injured while they were rescuing people from the site. Prima facie, it looks like a short circuit but cylinder blasts in the house led to the spread of the fire. The one casualty was reported in the cylinder blasts.”

He added, “A child who had some head injury was shifted to a private hospital by us for better care.”

A spokesperson from Wockahardt hospital said a nine-year-old boy came with traumatic head injury, and he is stable. “There were no burn injuries.”

Shinde further said despite injuries, firemen could rescue families from the slums.

The Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar police filed a case of accidental death. Investigations are on to find out if there was any negligence.