A fire at a labour camp linked to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Project Affected Persons project in Mulund East was contained on Thursday afternoon after at least seven gas cylinders exploded, according to police and civic officials cited by Mid-Day. All occupants were evacuated safely and no casualties or fatalities were reported.
The blaze broke out at a workers’ shed at an under-construction building in the Tata Nagar area of Mulund East. The site is behind Purva Nagar building on Navghar Road and was being used to accommodate construction workers engaged in the BMC PAP project.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade received the incident call at 1.54 pm on October 8 and dispatched teams to the location. The fire was classified as a Level I incident at around 2.05 pm. Firefighting and relief operations continued at the site, with the blaze reported to have been extinguished at about 3.50 pm.
Officials said the fire was suspected to have started as a small blaze before spreading through the labour camp and triggering the cylinder explosions. The exact cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the explosions were still being ascertained.
A senior Mumbai Police official confirmed that there were no reported casualties or fatalities. Civic officials also said that all occupants had been evacuated from the premises safely. The extent of damage to the workers’ shed and the under-construction building was being assessed.
The response involved the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, BMC ward staff and a 108 ambulance. Authorities made arrangements at the site while officials continued to gather details about the incident.
The fire occurred at a temporary accommodation facility for construction workers within a public housing-related project. Further information on the cause of the fire, safety arrangements at the camp and any official assessment of the site was awaited from the authorities.
