Major fire breaks out at slum in Mumbai’s Bandra, 2 children hospitalised

At least 25 fire tenders were pressed into service along with a large Mumbai Fire Brigade contingent which managed to bring the blaze under control within two hours.

Two children were injured in a major fire that broke out at the Lalmati slum near Bandra west fire station on Tuesday. Nearly 70 houses were gutted in the fire.

At least 70 hutments were destroyed as hundreds of slum-dwellers lost their homes. (Kunal Patil/HT photo)

The blaze broke out at around 11.30 am and was brought under control by 1 pm. Officials suspect the fire started due to a short-circuit. A senior fire department official said 7-8 gas cylinder blasts led to the massive blaze.

Officials from the disaster management unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed that 10 water tankers and 12 fire engines were sent to the spot immediately.

The two children were rushed to Bhabha Hospital.

Faisal Khan (21), one of the residents whose house was burnt down in the fire, said, “I was sleeping when I heard our neighbours screaming. We ran out of the house with all our belongings we could manage to take. There were only two-three fire engines at the start despite the fire station being at a stone’s throw.”