Mumbai fire kills 15 as blaze spreads through third-floor restaurant

Cause of the fire that started around 1am local time is under investigation

Flames shot into the night sky early on Friday as a fire engulfed an upmarket rooftop restaurant in Mumbai, killing 15 people and sending others fleeing for their lives, fire officials said.

The 1am fire spread quickly from the restaurant through the four-storey building, said Mumbai fire service official Balkrishna Kadam.

Eight fire engines fought the blaze for more than five hours, he said.

Video showed a blazing fire on the top of the building, and then a roof-like shelter collapsing.

A bamboo ceiling burnt quickly and collapsed as people tried to escape, the Times Now Indian news channel said.

“There was a stampede and someone pushed me,” Sulbha Arora Mumbai, a Mumbai gynaecologist, tweeted.

“People were running over me even as the ceiling above me was collapsing in flames. Still don’t know how I got out alive.”

The building is in Kamala Mills, a sprawling former textile compound that has been redeveloped with restaurants and offices and has become a popular nightspot in Mumbai.

Several TV news channels operating from the compound had to shut down some of their broadcasts, reportedly due to equipment damage.

“It was not only difficult but impossible to move out the front door, so we tried to move out our other emergency exit, even though fireballs were falling down,” said Sharad Jadhav, a producer for TV9.

“Somehow I managed to get everybody out of the place one by one, and then I came out, and when we came out the roof of the restaurant came crashing down.”

More than 50 people were taken to the King Edward Memorial Hospital, of whom 12 were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, said Avinash Supe, a doctor at the hospital.

Supe said the deaths were caused by both burns and suffocation.

Fire officials said 14 of the victims had been identified, and there was one unidentified body. The dead included 11 women, they said.

Babu Lal, who was celebrating his granddaughter’s birthday at the restaurant, told Times Now that his granddaughter died in the fire.

Police filed a case of culpable homicide against the owners and the manager of the restaurant. No arrests have been made.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Anguished by the fire in Mumbai. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. I pray that those injured recover quickly.”

AP