Three dead in two separate fires in Mumbai

A mother and daughter died after fire broke out in their building in Airoli, while a 30-year-old man lost his life in a fire in an Andheri shop

Two separate incidents of fires reported in the early hours of Thursday — at Andheri in Mumbai and Airoli in Navi Mumbai — have claimed a total of three lives.

The fire began in the ground floor cosmetics shop in Airoli in the early hours of Thursday.(Bachchan Kumar /HT Photo)

A mother and daughter died after fire broke out in their building in Airoli in the early hours of Thursday, while a 30-year-old man was killed in a fire in a shop in Andheri (east).

The two victims in Airoli lived on the first floor of a row house in Sector 3, the police said, adding that the ground floor was occupied by a cosmetics shop, where the fire began. “The smoke filled their house on the first floor, and the women died of suffocation. They did not have any burn injuries,” said a police officer from Rabale police station, who did not wish to be named.

Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and firemen managed to douse the blaze in an hour, after which they found the two bodies.

The reason behind the fire is not yet known. “We suspect that a short circuit may have caused it. We are investigating the matter,” said another police officer, requesting anonymity.

In Andheri (east), the fire started around 1.15am in a 1,200 sq ft gala at Mittal Industrial Estate, Andheri-Kurla Road. It took fire officials close to three hours to put out the flames and recover the body of Pradeep Vishwakarma, 30, who was sleeping in the shop and suffered burn injuries.

“The fire was brought under control at 2.50am and doused finally by 3.50am,” said a fire official, who did not wish to be named. Four fire engines and four water tankers were sent to the spot to douse the blaze.