New Delhi: At least six people were killed and 15 others injured after a massive fire broke out in a 19-storey residential building in India’s financial and entertainment capital Mumbai on Saturday.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said the fire was caused by a short-circuit in the air conditioner of an apartment.
Residents said the fire started on the 15th floor and soon a large column of black smoke engulfed the building. He said over 90 people escaped from the building either on their own or with the help of neighbours.
Ganesh Poornaik, a spokesman for the city government, said six people were killed and 15 were injured in the fire.
Police officer Saurabh Tripathi said that four of the injured were in critical condition.
About two dozen fire tenders extinguished the fire after two hours of effort and brought the fire under control. Firefighters took the injured to two nearby hospitals.
Pednekar said some of the injured needed oxygen support as they inhaled.
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often violated by builders and residents.
In August, eight coronavirus patients were killed when a fire broke out at a hospital in Ahmedabad, a major city in the state of Gujarat. In December 2018, 15 people were killed in a late night fire at a restaurant in Mumbai.
,