Video | Massive fire erupts in Mumbai's Andheri East; 2 dead

The fire has been contained to the electric wiring and installations, as well as a large stock of hardware stored within the Rajshree hardware shop in Mumbai's Andheri area.

A devastating fire broke out in a hardware store located in Mumbai's Andheri area, in the vicinity of Saki Naka metro station, in the early hours of Monday, killing two people. The victims, Rakesh Gupta, 22, and Ganesh Sabaram Devashi, 23, were unable to escape the flames that quickly engulfed the shop, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Despite efforts to save them, they were declared as brought-dead. The fire has been extinguished later and cooling operations are currently underway to ensure that any remaining hot spots are fully extinguished.

The fire has been extinguished at around 11 am on Monday. (HT Photo)

The fire has been contained to the electric wiring and installations, as well as a large stock of hardware stored within the Rajshree hardware shop. The shop is a ground-plus-two-loft structure, and the collapse of one of the lofts, where a significant amount of hardware is stored, has made it challenging for rescue teams to enter the building.

To aid in the rescue efforts, the front portion of the structure is being demolished with the assistance of a JCB machine. The hardware store occupies an area of approximately 40 feet by 50 feet, and five fire engines were deployed to help extinguish the fire.

After the fire was put out on Monday at approximately 10:45 am, a Poclain was deployed to remove the debris obstructing access to the loft area for the purpose of facilitating fire-fighting operations.