At least 15 have been killed in a blaze at a luxury rooftop restaurant after a burning artificial bamboo ceiling collapsed on diners.
Dozens more were injured as the fire spread quickly from the restaurant through a four-storey biulding on Senapati Bapat Marg, a commercial hub in the city known as India’s financial and entertainment capital.
An artificial bamboo ceiling in the restaurant burned rapidly and collapsed, trapping diners inside as they tried to escape.
Many of the victims were young women who were attending a birthday party on the rooftop when the fire broke out. Most people died of suffocation from the smoke, local reports claim.
At least 15 have been killed in a blaze at a luxury rooftop restaurant after a burning artificial bamboo ceiling collapsed on diners
Dozens more were injured as the fire spread quickly from the restaurant through a four-storey biulding on Senapati Bapat Marg, a commercial hub in the city known as India’s financial and entertainment capital
An artificial bamboo ceiling in the restaurant burned rapidly and collapsed, trapping diners inside as they tried to escape
Many of the victims were young women who were attending a birthday party on the rooftop when the fire broke out. Most people died of suffocation from the smoke, local reports claim
The fire was extinguished in the early hours but an AFP reporter at the scene said the rooftop where the party was taking place had been gutted, with charred ice buckets and ashtrays strewn around.
Police said they were investigating the cause of the fire, and had filed a preliminary case against the owners of the restaurant, which was in the city’s Kamala Mills compound.
More than 50 people were brought to a hospital, of whom 12 were being treated for injuries that were not life threatening, said Avinash Supe, a doctor at KEM Hospital. The dead included 11 women, fire officials said.
More than 50 people were brought to a hospital, of whom 12 were being treated for injuries that were not life threatening
Dozens more were injured as the fire spread quickly from the restaurant through a four-storey biulding on Senapati Bapat Marg, a commercial hub in the city known as India’s financial and entertainment capital
Police said they were investigating the cause of the fire, and had filed a preliminary case against the owners of the restaurant, which was in the city’s Kamala Mills compound
‘There was a stampede and someone pushed me. People were running over me even as the ceiling above me was collapsing in flames. Still don’t know how I got out alive,” Mumbai gynecologist Sulbha Arora tweeted.
She said was at the restaurant when the fire started and ‘before we knew it the whole place was engulfed in a matter of seconds.’
The building, located in the formerly industrial area of central Mumbai, houses several upscale restaurants that had moved in over the last few years to make it a popular nightlife destination, the New Delhi Television channel reported.
Babu Lal, who was celebrating his granddaughter’s birthday at the restaurant, complained of poor safety standards at the crowded restaurant. ‘I didn’t see any fire extinguishers there,’ Lal told the TimesNow television news channel. His granddaughter died in the fire, he said.
Police filed a case of culpable homicide against the owners and the manager of the restaurant. No arrests have been made.
At least 15 people have died in the disaster including 11 women, fire officials said. Many of the victims were young women who were attending a birthday party
The fire was extinguished in the early hours but an AFP reporter at the scene said the rooftop where the party was taking place had been gutted, with charred ice buckets and ashtrays strewn around
The building, located in the formerly industrial area of central Mumbai, houses several upscale restaurants that had moved in over the last few years to make it a popular nightlife destination
Friends of a victim killed in the restaurant fire wait outside a hospital in Mumbai, India
An artificial bamboo ceiling in the restaurant burned rapidly and collapsed as diners tried to escape and there were reports of a stampede
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 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.”
Several TV news channels operating from the compound had to shut down broadcast, reportedly due to damage to their equipment.
Eight fire engines battled the blaze for more than five hours, Kadam said.
Accidental fires are common across India because of poor safety standards and lax enforcement of existing regulations.
A fire swept through a sweet shop in Mumbai earlier this month, sparking a building collapse which killed 12 sleeping workers.
In September, a gas cylinder exploded in an unfinished building in Mumbai killing six people.
Such disasters are particularly common in Mumbai, where millions live in cramped, dilapidated properties because of high rental prices. Activists say builders and landlords often cut corners on safety to save costs.