Fire engulfs skyscraper in Mumbai's Parel, two firemen and woman injured

Mumbai: Three persons - two firemen and a woman resident were injured when a massive fire broke out on the 22nd floor of a 61-storey skyscraper in south Mumbai's Currey Road area, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Thursday.

The blaze engulfed the middle-upper stories of the One Avighna Park building around 10.45 a.m., with dark clouds of smoke emanating from the structure and spreading to the higher floors as many panicked.

At least 8 fire tenders with sophisticated equipment and special ladders were deployed to combat the flames which were finally doused after a three-hour operation in the presence of senior police and fire brigade officials.

The two firemen who suffered burn injuries are Ramdas S. Sanas, 37 and Mahesh R. Patil, 26. They were rushed to the KEM Hospital and discharged after treatment.

An unidentified 26-year-old woman went to the Wockhardt Hospital with complaints of smoke inhalation, and was discharged after being administered emergency treatment, said hospital chief Dr. Virendra Chauhan.

Earlier this morning, the firemen evacuated and brought down several people, including some senior citizens from the 19-25 floors by the staircase as a precaution.

This is the second time in around 14 months that a conflagration was reported from the One Avighna Park building.

On October 22 last year, a fire erupted due to a short-circuit in a vacant 19th floor flat and a security guard trapped there had fallen to his death after waiting for help.