Mumbai mall blaze: Fire-fighting continues after 36 hours
Mumbai: Fire-fighting operation is still on after over 36 hours at the City Centre Mall in Mumbai Central area, where a major blaze broke out, fire brigade officials said on Saturday morning.
As many as 18 fire engines and 10 jumbo tankers are engaged in the operation to douse the fire, an official said. The fire had erupted on the second floor of the basement-plus-three storied mall at 8.50 pm on Thursday.
"There was no report of injury to anyone," the fire brigade official said.
Five fire brigade personnel, including a deputy fire officer sustained injuries during the fire-fighting operation, but all of them are stable and discharged from hospitals.
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.
Over 3,500 people from the adjacent residential high- rise had been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade had given a 'brigade call', in which fire engines are called from all agencies in the city.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray visited the site and took a stock of the fire fighting operation on Friday night.
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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.
