Mumbai mall blaze: 3,500 people evacuated from adjacent tower
Mumbai: Mumbai fire brigade personnel are engaged in controlling the blaze at a mall 12 hours after fire broke out there, even as around 3500 people from an adjoining building were evacuated, civic sources said on Friday.
A major fire erupted at the City Center Mall in Mumbai Central area at 8.50 pm on Thursday. Two fire personnel have been injured while controlling the blaze, the sources said.
Around 300 people were rescued from the basement plus three-storey mall after the fire broke out, an official said.
A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) release said the Mumbai Fire Brigade has given a 'brigade call' in which fire engines are called from all agencies in the city.
Around 50 fire fighting vehicles, including24 fire engines and 16 jumbo tankers are engaged in the fire fighting at the spot, besides over 250 officers and firemen, it said.
A fireman sustained minor injuries on his right hand during the firefighting operation and was rushed to nearby JJ Hospital, it said, adding his condition is stable.
The fire erupted in a mobile shop on the second floor of the mall, which mainly houses shops for mobile accessories, besides a few other stores.
The BMC said around 3500 residents of the 55-floor Orchid Enclave tower adjoining the mall were shifted as a precautionary measure.
A police officer said they evacuated around 300 people from the mall when the blaze erupted.
The fire was initially categorised as level 1 (minor) but was upgraded to level-3 at 10.45 pmand to level-4 at 2.30 am, after flames spread to other parts of the building.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar visited the site and reviewed the firefighting operation.
According to fire brigade officials, the exact cause of the fire was not yet known.
Earlier on Thursday, a fire broke out in a garment factory at Kurla in Mumbai. It was doused after two hours.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
