Five people, including two minors, were injured after a gas leak from a cylinder pipe triggered a flare-up at a labour camp on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on Thursday night, while seven cylinders exploded in a separate fire at a construction workers’ camp in Mulund East, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.
The Powai incident was reported by Rajawadi Hospital at around 10.24pm, following which police and BMC ward staff were mobilised to the IIT Bombay campus. The injured were identified as Ansh Ahirwar, 12, and Tahjib Aalam, 9, who were shifted to Kasturba Hospital; Ishwar Singh, 37, who was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital; and Shivkumar Singh, 34, and Anilkumar Yadav, 23, who were also taken to Kasturba Hospital.
The BMC said all five injured people were in stable condition. Four were shifted to Kasturba Hospital, while one was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital. The flare-up was triggered by a gas leak from a cylinder pipe, according to the civic body’s preliminary account.
In the separate Mulund East incident, a fire broke out at a ground-plus-one labour camp in Navghar. The camp had been established for construction workers under the BMC’s Project Affected Persons project. The fire is suspected to have started as a small blaze before triggering explosions involving seven gas cylinders, according to preliminary information cited in the report.
All occupants of the Mulund camp were safely evacuated and no casualties were reported from that incident. Fire brigade personnel were at the site while firefighting operations were underway. The report did not provide details on the number of occupants or the extent of damage to the structure.
The two incidents involved temporary accommodation used by workers, but occurred at separate locations and under different circumstances. The Powai incident resulted in injuries after a cylinder-pipe leak, while the Mulund fire involved multiple cylinder explosions after the blaze began at the camp.
Police, BMC ward staff and fire brigade personnel responded to the incidents. Further details, including the cause of the Mulund fire and the condition of the affected premises, were still being ascertained. Investigations into both incidents were underway.
