Major fire erupts at shopping mall in Mumbai’s Oshiwara area, 14 rescued

Mumbai: A major fire broke out at Hira Panna Mall in suburban Oshiwara here on Friday afternoon, civic officials said.

At least 14 persons including a woman were safely rescued from the four-storey building while three fire brigade personnel were admitted to hospital after they suffered suffocation, said an official. As many as 25 fire brigade vehicles including 12 fire engines were rushed to the spot and efforts to put out the blaze were underway, he said.

The fire erupted at the mall, located near the Oshiwara police station, around 3.10 pm.

Some people were trapped in a gym inside the mall. Nine persons were rescued from the terrace using a `Turn Table Ladder’, two people were rescued using an `Angus’ ladder, while three others were rescued through the staircase, the official said.

Three firemen of the Goregaon fire station, namely, Sandip Maruti Patil, Raju Uttam Shingankar, and Yogesh Kondawar, suffered suffocation while dousing the fire. Patil and Shingarkar were rushed to the civic-run Cooper Hospital, while Kondawar was taken to the civic-run Trauma Care hospital, the official said.

The flames were confined to electrical wiring and installations in about a dozen shops on the second and third floors.

Thick black smoke emanating from the building was visible from far. The fire was initially declared as level-2, but around 3.40 pm it was upgraded to level-3, which denotes a major fire, and more fire engines and personnel were deployed, the official said.