press trust of india
Mumbai, Dec 29: A fire that started at a rooftop pub housed in a four-storeyed building on the Kamala Mills Compound in Lower Parel, a posh Mumbai locality, spread rapidly through the building, killing 14 people, including an Oriya youth Friday. Officials said the fire broke out at a birthday party that was being hosted at the pub, shortly after midnight Thursday. Agencies have reported that Khushboo Mehta, the 28-year-old woman whose birthday was being celebrated at the pub, was among the dead.
FACT FILE
Dead: 14; Injured: 21; Chief cause of death: asphyxiation; Hospitalised: 50 (of whom 12 were being treated for non life-threatening injuries); The 28-year-old woman Khushboo Mehta, who celebrated her birthday at the pub, among dead; Sarbajit Parida of Badapatapur village under Oupada block in Balasore district, was among the victims. He was employed at Mojo Restaurant; Where did the fire break out? At the rooftop restaurant 1-Above , after its bamboo and plastic roof caught fire; What else was affected? Fire spread to Mojo pub one level below, and engulfed the building in less than 30 minutes; Who died? Mainly guests, who took shelter in the bathroom got asphyxiated
An official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the fire, which also injured 21 people, started in the “1 Above” pub on the terrace, and spread to Mojo pub on the third floor one level below. According to one report, Sarbajit Parida (24) of Badapatapur village under Oupada block in Balasore district, was among the people who died in the mishap. He was employed at Mojo Restaurant, located on the third floor of the building. Sarbajit had joined the hotel about three years ago after completing a course in management.
All the dead, 11 of them women, were asphyxiated, Avinash Supe, the dean of KEM Hospital, to which the mishap-affected were shifted, said. This was the second major fire in the city in December. Twelve migrant labourers had died in a blaze at an unauthorised snack-making unit at Sakinaka in Andheri East December 18.
The pubs gutted Friday were located in the Trade House Building in the Kamala Mills compound and were popular night spots and commercial hubs that housed several offices, including television channels. The massive blaze engulfed the entire building in about 30 minutes and took several hours to be put out. Teams of fire brigade and police rushed to the spot and 35 injured people were pulled out from inside the pub and taken to hospital, a police officer said.
Police have booked Hratesh Sanghvi, Jigar Sanghvi and Abhijeet Manka of C Grade Hospitality, which manages the pub, along with others, under various charges.
12 killed in NY fire
New York: A massive fire swept through a five-storey apartment building in New York, killing at least 12 people, including a toddler, and injuring four others in the deadliest blaze to hit the city in decades. The fire broke out around 6:50 pm (local time) Thursday on the first floor of the Prospect Avenue apartment in the Bronx borough of the city and spread quickly, officials said, adding that the cause of the blaze was under investigation. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during a late night briefing outside the building, near the Bronx Zoo, called the fire the “worst fire tragedy in this city in at least a quarter century”. More than 160 firefighters helped bring the blaze under control. The building had no elevators. At least 12 people were rescued, but the search of the building continues, and the death toll could rise further, the mayor warned. The last blaze involving huge casualties was the 1990 inferno at a Bronx social club in which 87 people were killed.
