A fire at a 16,000-square-foot scrap godown in Mumbai’s Saki Naka area killed two people and injured four others on Tuesday evening, with the blaze spreading across 60 to 70 commercial units and adjoining chawls, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s disaster cell.
The fire broke out at around 6.30 pm in Andheri East and was brought under control at approximately 12.30 am. Two charred bodies were recovered from the site, officials said. Their identities had not been established when the report was published, and the bodies were sent for postmortem.
The affected premises consisted of ground-floor and partly ground-plus-one structures. The site contained electrical installations, garment stocks, plastic granules, scrap material, wooden furniture, empty aerosol containers, LPG cylinders and various types of machinery, officials said.
According to an official quoted by The Indian Express, local residents rescued the victims before the fire brigade reached the location. The injured people were transported to hospitals in private vehicles. The four injured men were identified as Taufiq Qureshi, 20, Jahid Qureshi, 20, Kamal Shah, 47, and Lalchand Gautam, 40.
Taufiq sustained burns over 80 per cent of his body, while Jahid and Kamal suffered 40 per cent burns each. Lalchand sustained 10 per cent burns. BMC officials said the injured men were receiving treatment at Rajawadi Hospital.
The spread of the fire across commercial units and chawls highlights the operational challenges posed by mixed-use, densely occupied premises containing combustible materials and gas cylinders. The structures affected in the incident combined workspaces and residential accommodation, according to officials.
The fire was extinguished after several hours, but authorities had not established its cause at the time of reporting. The BMC was ascertaining how the blaze began and assessing the affected premises. Further official findings on the cause and the condition of the structures were awaited.
