Thane Corporation announces Rs 5 lakh for firemen's kin

Thane Municipal Corporation on Sunday announced a financial help of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the six firemen who died while extinguishing a fire at a housing complex here.

Thane Municipal Corporation on Sunday announced a financial help of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the six firemen who died while extinguishing a fire at a housing complex here.

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Municipal Commissioner Nandkumar Jantre announced the compensation.

However, Jantre and Thane Chief Fire Officer Vijay Vaidya refused to comment on the point that deceased firemen neglected the basic safety rule of not using the lift in case of fire.

"We can confirm it only after police probe," they said.

The firemen identified as PJ Kale, S Thanekar, KG Patil, SK Shinde, SR Jamadar and GC Singh died of suffocation early hours on Sunday when the lift they took to reach 14th floor where a flat had caught fire, got stuck due to power failure.

Their bodies were kept at Wagle Fire Station to enable people to pay last respects and later sent to their respective homes, service officials said.

Meanwhile, local unit of Congress and NCP announced a financial aid of Rs 50,000 to the kin of each of the victims, party sources said.