Santacruz hotel fire: Air passengers who died were there because of delayed flight

Three passengers of IndiGo airlines died when two floors of Hotel Galaxy in Santacruz East, where they were put up due to a delayed flight, caught fire on Sunday. Two other passengers of the airline at the hotel were rushed to a hospital due to anxiety. Four other people including a hotel employee were rescued. The Fire Brigade will probe if the hotel had taken measures for fire-fighting. The five passengers were on their way to Nairobi from Ahmedabad with a connecting flight from Mumbai.

The five passengers were on their way to Nairobi from Ahmedabad with a connecting flight from Mumbai. "Their families in Nairobi as well as Kutch where they all hail from, have been alerted," said Bharat Karane, a resident of Mumbai from Kutch, who knew them. He said IndiGo had put them up at Hotel Galaxy as their flight was delayed. A senior officer from Vakola police station confirmed the five were IndiGo passengers.

The fire spread from one floor to another in Hotel Galaxy. Pic/Shadab Khan

The deceased were identified as Rupal Kanji Vekaria, 25, Kishan Halai, 28, and Kantilal Gowardhan Vara, 48. Alpa, 19, and her mother Manjula Vekaria, 49, were rushed to VN Desai Hospital due to anxiety.

"The three other hotel customers who were rescued did not need any medical attention. Another was a hotel employee," said SK Sawant, assistant divisional fire officer. The hotel staff told mid-day the fire started around 1.08 pm and the fire brigade reached the spot within 10 minutes of the outbreak. "The fire started in room 204 on the second floor. It spread to room 304 on the third floor," said Divisional Fire Officer PG Dudhal. There were six people in total who were rescued, but three others died.

‘Old measures in place'

Dudhal said the hospital had fire extinguishers on all the ground plus four floors. "But they did not have a fire alarm. The hotel is very old, and it has measures in compliance with the rules framed at the time of its construction," he said. Vakola police station PSI Baalraje Pawar told mid-day that the hotel employee had rushed to the second floor with a fire extinguisher but got stuck there. "He couldn't come back and had to be rescued. He did not sustain injuries, but he was scared," he said. A doctor at VN Desai Hospital said, "Three of the people were brought dead and had 70 per cent to 100 per cent burns."

Adarsh Srivastav and (right) Anil Kumar Hebmram managed to get out in time

AC on fire

While the fire officers said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, hotel staff said it started because of an air conditioner. There are eight rooms on every floor. Hotel staff told mid-day that a guest in room 204 on the second floor saw sparks in the AC of his room and rushed down to tell them. The fire that started in his room spread and claimed lives in 304 on the third floor. Those who were rushed to the hospital stayed in room 309. However, the hotel's day manager, Pradeep Ravat, claimed the AC was new and in good condition.

Survivors speak

Adarsh Srivastav, 27, along with around seven to eight others, had arrived in Mumbai a week ago to take part in ONGC's training and hiring programme. He and they were fortunate to have escaped. "Me and my roommate were in our room when the lights suddenly went out," he said.

Their room was next to room 204, and soon there was a knock on their door. "Someone was alerting everyone that there is a fire. When we opened the door, there was smoke everywhere, and we couldn't see anything," said the resident of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

Both he and his roommate left everything but their phones and rushed to safety. His roommate, Anil Kumar Hebmram, 24, is from Odisha. "I still haven't told my family this happened, as they will worry," he said. A fire official claimed the intensity of the fire was increased by the smoke. The dense smoke created difficulties in fire-fighting and the rescue operation," fire brigade officials said. They added that inflammable materials like wires, clothes and furniture added to the fire and dense smoke.

Another fire brigade official said, "Our primary goal was to complete fire-fighting and rescue work. On Monday, our team will inspect the spot. The hotel is old and not a high-rise so there is less chance that it has internal firefighting equipment. Our team will identify all aspects during the inspection." Sources claim the fire broke out due to a short circuit. Chief Fire Officer Ravindra Ambulgekar said, "Our team will visit the spot again for inspection. Then they can find the cause of the fire and if there are any lapses in safety measures in the building."

6
No of people who were rescued in the fire

Inputs from Sameer Surve