15 die, 23 injured in Kamla Mills compound fire incident in Mumbai

Mumbai: At least 15 people, including 11 women, were killed and 23 others injured when a major fire broke out in a pub in the Kamla Mills Compound here late Thursday night, an official said.The blaze was reported around 0030 hrs from Mojo's Bistro, a rooftop restaurant pub in the Kamla Trade House, in Lower Parel area of south Mumbai and quickly spread to an adjacent pub and restaurant, official of BMC Disaster Control said here.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have condoled the deaths.As per as the official, more than 12 fire tenders were rushed to fight the blaze which was finally brought under control around 0630 hrs.While the majority of the victims are reported to have perished on the spot, the firemen could rescue ten others safely from the leaping flames.

The injured have been admitted in the KEM Hospital, Bhatia Hospital, Airoli Burns Hospital, while two in Sion Hospital who suffered minor injuries were treated and discharged.Autopsies of the victims have revealed that a majority of the casualties occurred due to asphyxiation more than the burns, said Dr Avinash Supe, Dean, KEM Hospital.

The entire pub and the surrounding complex was full of patrons, including several women and tourists, thronging the fashionable area to unwind.Mumbai Police has booked the owner of the pub for negligence, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other charges for the fire, preliminarily suspected to be triggered by an electric short-circuit.There are many major corporates, TV-Radio-print media offices, more than three dozen high-end restaurants, pubs, etc, which suffered damage in the fire in the posh Kamla Mills Complex whose working is likely to be affected Friday.

The blaze comes as a huge setback to the government’s recent plans to make nightlife attractive by permitting all shops/malls to function round-the-clock, to generate more employment.Barely nine days ago, the state government had notified the amendments, though it was not made applicable to bars, pubs, discotheques and wine shops.However, these were expected to come under the ambit of the new laws in due course, with the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation recently initiating measures in this direction.

Blaming the BMC for the fire, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam said that stringent action should be initiated against those responsible for allowing the eateries to function despite rules being flouted.BJP MP Kirit Somaiya also attacked the Shiv Sena-controlled BMC for lapses on its part which led to the fire and demanded a complete fire-audit of all buildings in the city immediately.

KEM hospital identified the victims as-- Jeet (49), Preeti (36), Tejal (4) Khushboo Bansal (28), Pramila (6) Vishva- (23), Veena (28), Kavita (36), Paroli (30), Dhairya (26), Manisha (30), Yash (27), Shefali, Kinjal and Manisha.The majority of those killed were women attending a birthday party at a rooftop restaurant, police said. Twenty-eight-year-old woman Khushboo celebrating her birthday was among those who died.(UNI)