Mumbai mall fire: 2 firemen injured, 3,500 people evacuated from nearby building

Two firemen were injured and around 3,500 people were evacuated from a 55-storey building in Mumbai early Friday after a fire in a neighbouring mall escalated to level 5.

Fire fighting operations at the City Centre Mall in Nagpada area of south Mumbai are underway. At least 24 fire engines, 16 jumbo tankers and 250 fire brigade personnel are at the spot trying to control the blaze. Since it’s a glass facade building, dousing the fire is proving to be a challenge, fire officials said. Shards of glass, concrete and POP are falling off and bursting out due to the fire, they added.

People from the Orchid Enclave building, which is right behind the mall, were evacuated with the help of police. The rooftop of the mall building has a garden and swimming pool that belongs to residential building. Since the two are cojoined, smoke from the fire directly drifted towards Orchid Enclave.

It was originally a level 1 fire that was reported at the mall around 8.53 pm Thursday. It later escalated to level 3 and then level 5, following which more support from the fire brigade was called in at 2:41am Friday.

Police have also been deployed to assist the Mumbai Fire Brigade as the mall blaze has closed halted traffic on both sides of Belasis Road, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.

The ground floor of the mall is an additional three-storey building. The fire initially broke out on the second floor, which has shops of mobiles, printers, stationery, and furniture, the civic body said, adding that the fire later spread to the third floor.

Mumbai mayor Kishori Kishori Pednekar, MLA Amin Patel, chairman of the standing committee of the corporation Yashwant Jadhav, and additional municipal commissioner (West Suburbs) Suresh Kakani paid visit late to the site late last night, the BMC said.