A gas leak from a cylinder pipe triggered a fire at Hostel No. 6 on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on Thursday night, injuring five people, including two children. All those injured were reported to be in stable condition after receiving treatment at hospitals in Mumbai.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s disaster management cell said it received information about the incident at around 10.24 pm. Civic officials said the fire was possibly caused by leakage from the cylinder, although the supplied report does not identify a confirmed technical cause beyond that preliminary assessment.
The injured were initially taken to Rajawadi Hospital. Four people were later shifted to Kasturba Hospital for further treatment, while one remained admitted at Rajawadi Hospital.
The injured have been identified as Ansh Ahirwar, 12; Tahjib Aalam, 9; Ishwar Singh, 37; Shivkumar Singh, 34; and Anilkumar Yadav, 23. Ahirwar, Aalam, Shivkumar Singh and Yadav were transferred to Kasturba Hospital. Ishwar Singh continued to receive treatment at Rajawadi Hospital.
The incident places attention on the safety of cooking-gas systems and residential facilities within large institutional campuses. Hostels combine sleeping quarters, shared kitchens and high occupancy, making the condition of cylinder connections, pipes and related safety arrangements important to fire prevention and emergency response. The report, however, does not provide details on the hostel’s kitchen layout, the number of residents present or whether any safety inspection followed the incident.
The IIT Bombay fire was also the second reported gas-leak incident in Mumbai on Thursday. Earlier in the day, a major fire broke out at a labour camp in Mulund after a reported gas leak. The two incidents were reported separately, and no connection between them has been established in the supplied material.
Civic authorities have confirmed the hospitalisation and current condition of the five injured people. Further details on the source of the leak, the extent of damage at Hostel No. 6 and any subsequent safety action were not available in the report.
