Mumbai: A 75-year-old woman died and 18 others suffered from suffocation injuries after a fire broke out in a ground-plus 23-storey SRA building in Dahisar (E) on Sunday afternoon. Two of the injured residents are critical, said officials.The fire originated in the electrical meter room located in the basement of New Jan Kalyan Society in Shanti Nagar on S V Road around 3pm. As thick smoke rose to the higher floors, the residents rushed out of the building. While a BMC release stated that 36 persons were rescued, fire brigade officials said they safely evacuated 60-70 persons from the building.“We rescued three unconscious women from the first and third floors. One of these women was the deceased, Shanti Bachole Gosai,” said a fire brigade official. “Our estimate is that more than 1,000 people reside in the building as there are 18-20 rooms on each floor. Those who suffered suffocation injuries were those who were coming down the staircase and got trapped in the smoke logging. Those living on the higher floors managed to go to the cantilevered refuge floors and balconies.”“About 30 people were rescued after breaking window grilles, while 15-20 others were rescued after breaking glass windows at the rear of the building. We also brought down 35 people from the staircase. Some people were rescued from atop fire engines too,” the official said.Mumbai Fire Brigade officials including, ADFO Manohar Nagapurkar and station officer Sahdev Mohite, were among those who supervised the firefighting operations. The fire was covered from all the sides at around 4.30 pm and was completely doused at 6.10pm. Gosai was among the seven rescued residents taken to Rohit Hospital, but she was declared dead by the doctors. Among the other six, one male is critical. Ten injured persons were taken to Northern Care Hospital, and one to Pragati Hospital. One of the injured taken to Shatabdi Hospital is reportedly critical.
