One person was killed and a few others injured after a massive fire broke out in a slum pocket in south Mumbai’s Cuff Parade area on Thursday morning, leaving over 800 shanties gutted.
The deceased could not be identified until going to the press.
The fire erupted in Ganesh Murthy area near Ambedkar Nagar slum, behind BEST’s Cuff Parade bus depot at around 11am. While the exact cause could not be ascertained, the fire was reportedly started by a series of cylinder explosions.
“Repeated blasts were heard when the fire erupted. Given the chaos around, we could not tell what exactly caused the blaze. But the presence LPG cylinders and the direction of the wind, toward land, made the fire spread over a huge area, gutting the shanties completely,” said a fire official engaged in the rescue operation.
It didn’t take too long for the blaze to spread through the heavily congested slum, which is built on marshy land.
To stop the fire from spreading further, several slum dwellers used their presence of mind and took their LPG cylinders with them while escaping. “At least 500 people must have left their homes with the cylinders. If they hadn’t, the fire would have been much bigger and would have killed more people,” said Gopal Rathod, a local resident.
Meanwhile, the civic body claimed to have arranged for alternate shelter for the residents at a nearby municipal school. Apart from this, food and water supply too was made available.
“We can’t look into the irregularities such as why the slums have been allowed to come up on mangroves. The district collector’s office and the MMRDA will look into it. Our job was to rescue the people. We made shelter and food arrangements after the collector requested us to do so,” a civic official said.
At least 16 fire engines, nine jumbo water tankers and three ambulances were pressed into service. “We are recording the statements of witnesses. It appears that around 10 to 12 cylinders exploded in the fire, resulting in further damage. We are in the process of registering an incident report,” said senior inspector Sharad Barde of the Cuffe Parade police station.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a fire broke out in temporary huts constructed for laborers of an under-construction building on Salt Pan Road in Wadala on Thursday morning. However, no casualties have been reported.
Brave firemen
Fire engines had to be stationed around 1,000 feet away from the spot as with its many narrow lanes, it was difficult to access, informed fire officials. “The inaccessibility of the area, sea wind and continuous explosions posed a great threat to the rescue operation,” a fire official said.
Meanwhile, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan paid a visit to the slum on Thursday night. He said the government would conduct an inquiry into the incident and compensate the victims and their kin through the chief minister’s fund.
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