Slumdog Millionaire kids escape slum fire

Child stars Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Ali narrowly escaped a massive fire that destroyed a section of their Mumbai slum. More than 200 slum homes were gutted and 15 people injured in the blaze.

Slumdog Millionaire child stars Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Ali narrowly escaped a massive fire that destroyed a section of their Mumbai slum. More than 200 slum homes were gutted and 15 people injured in the blaze, which started at 4am local time on Thursday.

Azharuddin’s home was about 30 metres when the blaze was brought under control. It took atleast 100 firefighters and six hours to slow down the flames. According to the residents, gas canisters used for home cooking exploded every few minutes in the intense heat, helping the fire spread and hampering rescue efforts.

"We were woken up very early in the morning to the sound of explosions," the Telegraph quoted Azharuddin, who played young Salim in the Oscar winning film, as saying. "The fire was burning in the sky just behind our home over the other side of the storm drain. " All the residents of the slums were watching and it was pretty scary for a while.

"But we are all safe and well. No homes in my part of the slum were affected,” he added. "My home is not affected by the fire," said Rubina, who played the young Latika in the hit movie.

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