Fire at multi-storey commercial building in Mumbai; 17 suffer from suffocation
Mumbai (PTI): As many as 17 persons suffered from suffocation after a fire broke out at a 13-storey commercial building in Mumbai's Jogeshwari suburb on Thursday morning, officials said.
Nine of those who complained of suffocation were being treated at the nearby civic-run HBT Hospital, a civic official said, adding that eight others opted to be discharged against medical advice.
Thick black smoke billowed across the glass facade as the fire started at JNS Business Center near Gandhi School around 10.50 am, he said.
The blaze has been covered from all sides and dousing operations were underway, he added.
Flames spread from the 9th to 13th floor of the glass-facade building. They also spread between the 4th and 13th floors in the electric duct.
A fire brigade official said that at least 12 fire engines and other firefighting equipment have been pressed into service.
Fire brigade personnel rescued a total of 27 people including two women from various floors through the staircase and using hydraulic platform ladders, he said.
Flames were confined to electric wiring and installations, false ceilings, doors, windows, electric and AC ducts and furniture, the official informed.
Smoke filled up offices from the 11th to 13th floor, and fire brigade personnel broke the glass facade to allow ventilation, the official said.
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'Someone must be held accountable': HC converts civil suit on Goa nightclub tragedy into PIL
Panaji (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy in which 25 people were killed.In a stern observation, Goa bench of the High Court of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Ashish Chavan said the local panchayat had "failed to take suo motu cognisance" of the club and had taken "no action despite complaints."
The division bench directed the Goa government to file a detailed reply on the permissions granted to the nightclub.
The High Court, while fixing January 8 as the next date of hearing, pointed out that commercial operations were continuing in the structure despite it having been served a demolition order.
The original petition was filed after the December 6 tragedy by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, the owners of the land on which the nightclub was operating.
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Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing the petitioner, was made amicus curiae in the matter and has been asked to file a detailed affidavit in the matter.
In their petition, Amonkar and Divkar highlighted "the alarming pattern of statutory violations that have remained inadequately addressed despite multiple complaints, inspections, show-cause notices, and even a demolition order".
They contended that these violations posed "immediate threats to public safety, ecological integrity, and the rule of law in the state of Goa."
Investigations by multiple agencies into the nightclub fire have revealed various irregularities, including lack of permissions to operate the nightclub.
The Goa police arrested five managers and staff members of the club, while co-owners Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra have been detained in Thailand after they fled the country.
