Mumbai: Fire breaks out in seven-storey Andheri building, no casualty; watch video

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A fire broke out in a seven-storey residential building in Andheri area of Mumbai on Wednesday morning, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). There was no report of any casualty, the civic body said.

According to the civic body, the fire erupted around 8:42 a.m. on the sixth floor of the Chinchan Building, located near the RTO office in Andheri West.

The civic body said that four fire-fighting vehicles were rushed to the spot. The blaze was doused by around 9.03 am.

"There is no report of injury to anyone," the civic body said.

Cooling operations were underway at the spot, the civic body said.

The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

Massive fire in high-rise in Kalyan town destroys some flats; nobody hurt

Some flats were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in a 17-storey residential building in Kalyan town of Maharashtra's Thane district on Tuesday evening, officials said.

No casualties were reported in the blaze that broke out on the 15th floor of the high-rise -- Vertex Housing Society -- located in Adharwadi of Kalyan west, they said.

"The fire broke out in a flat on the 15th floor around 6.30 pm. It quickly spread to neighbouring flats and on the 16th and 17th floors. The blaze was brought under control by the fire brigade around 9.30 pm after a strenuous firefighting operation that involved five fire engines from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), Thane and other neighbouring civic bodies," an official said.

The fire was visible from a considerable distance and caused widespread panic among residents and onlookers in the area. The top three floors of the building suffered extensive damage and several flats were completely gutted, he said.

Strong winds worsened the situation, due to which the fire spread rapidly across the affected floors, the civic official added.

As the high-rise was located away from the core city area, the fire brigade personnel faced difficulties in reaching the spot. Secondly, the affected flats were located on the top floors and hence using high-pressure water jets also posed a challenge, he said.

"The fire brigade had to call in additional firefighting resources, including state-of-the-art vehicles from the Thane Municipal Corporation and Badlapur Municipality," he said.

There are reports that gas cylinders in some of the flats exploded. However, officials could not confirm it.

Many residents of the affected flats rushed to safety using elevators and staircases, he said.

To monitor the situation, drones were deployed by the local municipality and police to check whether anybody was trapped in the building, he said.

Kalyan's municipal commissioner Indurani Jakhar, who was present at the site to oversee the firefighting operation, said the administration would consider purchasing a 70-meter hydraulic vehicle for more effective firefighting in high-rises in future.

(With inputs from Agencies)