A call for outside help
Even as the Mumbai Fire Brigade personnel were engaged in rescue operations at Lotus Business Park in Andheri, where a massive fire broke out on Friday, reinforcements from other agencies had to be called in after it was found that more than 30 firemen themselves had gotten trapped on the top floors of the high-rise. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the navy sent their personnel to assist in the rescue.
How the rescue operation was conducted
After receiving information around 1.35pm about firemen being stuck in the building, ICG launched the helicopter EX 842 SQN (CG) around 2.15pm in severe weather conditions. An ICG officer said the helicopter reached the spot around 2.30pm and the personnel carried out a thorough assessment of the situation in extreme conditions of strong wind and rain coupled with fire. Heavy smoke in the vicinity made the operation extremely difficult and dangerous, he added.
"The ICG pilots dared and started winching the trapped fire personnel. We soon safely rescued several of them and dropped them off safely in a nearby ground," the officer said.
Indian Navy too had pressed a Seaking C helicopter into service at 2.30pm. "The helicopter was not used as by then the fire had been brought under control," the navy said in a statement.
When chopper had saved another day
This was the second time in a week when ICG and its helicopter was put into service to rescue people. On Monday, ICG had rescued 11 Indian sailors from a merchant vessel (MV) after it began listing in the high seas. MV Priyanka, which had on board 16 Indian crew members and 1,900 metric tonnes of iron pellets, began listing after encountering stormy weather around 3km from Revdanda port in Raigad district. ICG had immediately deployed Chetak helicopter to rescue the crew members.
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