India's commercial capital has become a witness to another fire tragedy within days after a rooftop restaurant fire killed a birthday girl and 13 others. In less than a week, four members of a family, including two children, were charred to death when a devastating fire preyed on them as they slept in a residential building in Andheri East.
A least five others were brought out with severe burns from the fire that broke out at 2 a.m. in Marol's Maimun Manzil at the sprawling Dawoodi Bohra Colony, the BMC Disaster Control said.
All the deceased were residing in a flat on the third floor of the four-storey building and were identified as: Sakina A. Kapasi (14), Mohsin A. Kapasi (10), Tasleem A. Kapasi (42) and a senior citizen, Dawood Ali Kapasi (80).
As the fire spread to the neighbouring flat, four of the family of Kotharis sustained injuries in the fire and were being treated. It included Ibrahim Kothari (57), Sakina Kothari (53), Hussain Kothari (26) and Hafiza Kothari (21). Of the four, Ibrahim was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Cooper Hospital, reports said.
Another injured woman, Zara Cutlerywalla (42) was discharged after initial treatment.
The cause of the fire was not yet known but short-circuit is suspected. Fire Brigade officials said the blaze engulfed the flat from all four sides, trapping the ill-fated Kapasi family. Finally, the fire was brought under control around 5 a.m.
The second fire accident occurred within a week after a massive fire at a pub hosting a birthday party killed 14 people, most of them women, and injured 21 in Lower Parel area.
The fire broke out after 12.30am at One Above Pub, located on the third floor of the four-storey Trade House Building in Kamala Mills compound on Senapati Bapat Marg, bringing all rootop restaurants under scanner for safety adherence across the country including Bangalore and Hyderabad.
(With inputs from IANS)
