At least four dead in Mumbai’s Crystal Tower fire, 16 injured

At least four persons lost their lives as fire engulfed a highrise in Parel area of Mumbai on Wednesday morning. At least 16 others got injured in the incident and were rushed to Mumbai’s KEM hospital.

"A total of 20 victims were brought to KEM Hospital, of which four were brought dead - one senior citizen female and 3 male. Only two bodies have been identified. There are 16 patients, of which 10 are male and six female. They are in stable condition," said KEM hospital dean Dr Avinash N Supe.

#UPDATE: Total four people have died in the fire accident that broke out in Crystal Tower near Hindmata Cinema in Parel area earlier today. Identification of two bodies is still to be done. #Mumbai — ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2018

"Fire fighting operations are over,cooling ops is on. A complaint will be lodged on charges of criminal offence against the responsible society official. The building has been declared unsafe, and power and water supply have been stopped for now," said the official.

He added, "Area around the lift of the 12th floor was the worst affected. Fire in the electrical wiring kept in duct area had caused smoke and heat on the entire floor, because of which people on upper floors were trapped."

The fire broke out on Wednesday morning on the 12th floor of Crystal Tower near Hindmata Cinema in Parel. A total of 20 fire-fighting tenders were rushed to spot on immediate basis. Four water tankers were also sent to the spot to tackle the fire.

Classified as a level-2 fire, it spread to the 13th, 14th and 15th floor of Crystal Tower. Several residents of the building got trapped and were later rescued by fire department personnel. Dozens of people were rescued from different floors of the 17-storey Crystal Tower building near Hindmata Cinema.

The smoke spread through the building's staircases and lifts were not used as a precautionary measure. Snorkel ladders were used to rescue residents stranded in the building, an official in the fire brigade control room here said.

The fire brigade control room got a message about the blaze on 12th floor of the 'Crystal Tower' building, located near Hindmata Cinema, at 8.32 am, said an official in the fire department.

The fire has been doused.

(With agency inputs)