Three civilians were also injured when an old building in South Mumbai caved in
PTI
MUMBAI, MAY 10
Two senior firemen were killed and as many seriously injured when an old building in South Mumbai caved in on them while they were trying to put out flames that had engulfed it, a municipal corporation official said on Sunday.The mishap took place when the blaze started at about 4.20pm on Saturday in four-storeyed ‘Gokul Nivas’, a more than a century old commercial-cum-residential building located in densely-populated Kalbadevi area.
When the flames were being doused, the building which was in a dilapidated condition buckled under the force of water, and caved in, trapping the four firemen under the rubble, a Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) official told PTI on Sunday.
He said while Sanjay Vaman Rane, Assistant Divisional Fire Officer, and Mahendra Desai, Station Officer, died of asphyxiation, two other officials were rescued, but are in a critical condition at the National Burns Centre in Airoli.
They are identified as Chief Fire Officer Sunil Nesarikar and Deputy Chief Fire Officer Sudhir Amin, who have suffered 50 per cent and 80 per cent burns respectively.
Three civilians were also injured in the incident.
According to the official, who is associated with the Disaster Management unit of the MCGM, the blaze started at about 4.20pm and it took fire personnel over 7 hours to put out the flames.
“We got a call at about 4.20pm that a fire has broken out in Kalbadevi area. Subsequently, we rushed 16 fire tankers, 8 jumbo tankers and 3 ambulances to the spot. In addition, we also took help of fire tankers from BPCL, HPCL, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Bombay Port Trust, the Navy, Airport Authority of India, MIDC, and the municipal corporations of Thane and Navi Mumbai,” the official said.
He said the building became weaker with the force of water and finally crumbled, trapping four fire officials under the debris.
“At about 7pm, portions of the building started collapsing (as a result) four fire officials got trapped under the debris, and the fire fighting operation turned into a rescue operation.
“While two officials could be saved, two others died of asphyxiation,” the official said.n He said the cooling operation got over at 12 noon Sunday, adding the cause of fire was being investigated.
“This building had both residential and commercial apartments. The fire started at a clothes godown on the ground floor and later spread to the upper floors of the building through wooden beams and columns,” the official said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Sunday expressed grief over the demise of the fire officers, terming the incident “painful.”
“The news of the demise of two senior fire officers of the Mumbai Fire Brigade while discharging their duty at Kalbadevi on Saturday is extremely painful. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the family of the officers. “I also wish speedy recovery to chief fire officer, the deputy fire officer and other firemen who have been injured in the accident,” the Governor said in his message.
