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1 dead, 12 injured in fire at Mumbai hospital building
Four policemen who tried dousing the fire were among the 12 injured. Korshi Dedhia, 46, an accountant who was a Dombivli resident, died in the fire
Mumbai: One person died and 12 others were injured after a fire broke out in the metre room of Vishwas building in the Pant Nagar area opposite Ghatkopar East railway station, officials said.
Four policemen who tried dousing the fire were among the 12 injured. Korshi Dedhia, 46, an accountant who was a Dombivli resident, died in the fire.
The fire that broke out around 2pm in the seven storey commercial building was brought under control after two hours. The owners of Vishwas building said they told people trapped by the fire to get to the terrace, but Dedhia climbed down and died on the spot. He was taken to Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar.
The fire led to heavy smoke in the area, including an adjoining building, which is a hospital. More than 50 people were rescued from the two buildings. The metre room was located at the rear end of the building, which was just a wall away from the hospital. A banner above the room also caught fire.
The commercial building houses various clinics and a private tuition class. There are two restaurants on the ground floor. The fire spread to some parts of the adjoining hospital as well.
“The fire started in the metre box, and smoke and heat went to the staircase of the building. Our vehicles reached late as they were stuck in jams,” chief fire officer Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Patients brought out from the hospital sought refuge in a residential building called Jyoti Palace. At least 22 patients were shifted to different hospitals like Zynova and Kamdar, and local nursing homes, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said in a statement.
Parakh hospital is located in Khokhani lane of Ghatkopar East and is located just behind Vishwas building, which has its entry from Jawahar Road. “I used nearly 15 to 20 of my fire extinguishers and one water line from my hospital to douse the fire,” said nephrologist Dr Narendra Dedhia, who owns the hospital. ”By the time the fire brigade reached, we had doused most of it.’’
“I was concluding a surgery and the smoke started coming inside,” said Dr Dina Dedhia, an anaesthesiologist at the hospital. “I realised the seriousness of it and we shifted the patient immediately to another hospital.’’
“As of now, our focus is to provide relief,” said additional municipal commissioner Sanjeev Kumar, who visited Rajawadi hospital. “We will do a detailed investigation and book people on the basis of this.’’
“Four policemen have been admitted in the hospital, as they were suffocated while helping other people. They have been identified as Jay Yadav, Sanjay Tadavi, Nitin Viskar and Prabhuling Swami. They are now feeling better and have been kept in hospital for observation,” said senior police inspector Ravidutt Sawant of Pantnagar police station in Ghatkopar East.
“Prima facie, we suspect a short circuit in the metre box caused the fire. However, we will wait for the fire report to further check the exact cause. We have not registered an offence yet,” said Sawant. “We are recording statements of the people present at the spot.”
