At least seven people were killed and over 15 injured when a large fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in India’s financial capital Mumbai on Saturday (22 January), authorities said.
Dozens of firefighting trucks rushed to douse the flames and rescue hundreds of residents from the 20-storey building in the centre of Mumbai city.
Footage from the scene showed a massive plume of smoke filling the sky, with flames coming out from the 18th floor of the building.
‘Fire has been doused and people have been rescued,’ Kishori Pednekar, the city’s mayor added that the cause of the fire was not known yet.
Television footage showed plumes of smoke from the 18th floor of the 20-storey building. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.
The fire was designated as a Level 3 (major) fire, with 13 fire tenders deployed to the scene.
Though the reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained, officials said it appeared that some cables in the building’s electric duct melted after a short circuit. The building’s fire-suppression system is suspected to have malfunctioned, allowing the blaze to spread.
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