In a tragic incident, seven people were charred to death after a fire erupted in a building in the Chembur area of Mumbai, Maharashtra on Sunday. The fire broke out in a Ground plus two (G+2) structure in Siddharth Colony at around 5 am.
According to the information, the fire caught the meter box and soon spread to other parts of the building. A fire official said the blaze was confined to the electric wiring and installations in the shop on the ground floor and spread to the upper floor, adding it was a 'level-one' fire.
There was a shop on the ground floor and a family lived on the upper floor. The deceased include 5 members of a family. Soon after the fire was reported, the officials swung into action and fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The dousing operation was concluded later.
Three children among deceased
The deceased family members include two children. The deceased have been identified as Paris Gupta (7), Manju Prem Gupta (30), Anita Gupta (39), Prem Gupta (30) and Narendra Gupta (10). The cause of the fire is still unknown.
Speaking about the incident, Hemraj Singh Rajput, DCP Zone 6 said, " We received a call around 6 am...on the G+2 building, the ground floor there was a shop and families stayed on the other two floors. 7 people died and 2 people who were sleeping in the shop, escaped...our team and fire brigade team will investigate and the exact cause for the fire..."
CM announces ex-gratia
Reacting to the incident, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde ordered a high-level investigation into the incident. He also announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 5 lakhs to the next of the kin of deceased. He also ordered the treatment of the injured by the state government. He assured that the family would be looked after and would be provided monthly assistance.
