BFF-07 4 killed, 16 injured in India’s Mumbai highrise fire

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BFF-07

INDIA-FIRE

4 killed, 16 injured in India’s Mumbai highrise fire

NEW DELHI, Aug 22, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – At least four people have been
killed and more than 16 others injured in a massive fire that broke out at a
highrise residential building in India’s financial capital Mumbai Wednesday,
officials said.

The blaze started on the twelfth floor of Crystal Tower in Parel around
8:30 a.m. local time. It soon started spreading to upper floors, a fire
official said.

“Initially we thought that we had rescued all those trapped in the fire on
the upper floors, but four people eventually died of suffocation. Those
injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital,” a fire official added.

As many as 10 fire tenders were pressed into service to contain the
flames, the official said, adding that the cause of the fire is yet to be
ascertained.

Local TV channels aired footage of white smoke billowing out of the
building and people being evacuated by fire fighters using hydraulic cranes.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, the official said.

Fires are common in highrises and factories in India because of lack of
regards for basic fire safety norms and absence of fire-fighting equipment.

Some 14 people were killed in a massive fire at two rooftop pubs in Mumbai
in December last year.

BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1345 hrs