Cigarette sparks major fire in Kandivali factory, injures 3

On Friday afternoon, three brothers working inside a plastic cutting and manufacturing company at Laljipada in Kandivali West suffered severe burns after a fire engulfed the two-storey structure. One of the victims is in a critical state.

Three brothers — Brijmohan (45), Radheshyam (37) and Radha Chaudhary (30) were working inside the plastic factory, which is also owned by them, when one of them discarded a cigarette without stubbing it. The combustible chemicals in the factory caught fire and engulfed the factory. Residents pulled the trio out and rushed them to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli (W). The incident happened at around 2 pm.

"Brijmohan has suffered more than 90 per cent burns, while the other two are out of danger and recuperating in the hospital," said a police officer.

The structure is leased by Ankush Vyas to Radheshyam, owner of Radheyshyam Enterprises which functions out of the building. "We have all the permissions to conduct business," Radheshyam said. "We will present the documents to the police."

"We were sitting on the verandah when we saw flames erupting from the shop," said Nanabhai Jadhav, a local resident, adding "We managed to douse some of the fire and pull the trio out."

The police has conducted a panchnama and asked the fire brigade to submit a report. "We have asked the owner of the factory to submit relevant documents and will soon register a complaint," said Mukund Pawar, senior Police Inspector at Kandivli police station.