5 children among 9 killed in Mumbai medical store fire

Among the five deceased was a 3-month-old infant, they said. The fire occurred on early Thursday morning at ‘Wafa’ medical store located on the ground floor of a chawl in Juhi Galli on Wireless Road in Andheri, Mumbai police spokesman Ashok Dudhe said.

Eight persons were initially killed in the blaze. Later, a critically injured woman also succumbed to burns at a hospital, police said.

The families of the victims were staying on the first and second floors of the premises, the official said. 

According to police and fire brigade officials, the electric wiring and other power installations in the 120 sq ft medical store caught fire. The blaze then spread to other floors of the ground plus two-floor chawl in which nearly 17-18 people were staying.

Prima facie, the police and fire officials suspect that because of a very small internal staircase in the chawl, the victims were trapped inside the premises and got engulfed in the fire.

“The victims were sleeping on the floors above the medical store in the ground plus two floors chawl and could not find a passage to come out,” said P S Rahangdale, chief of the fire brigade staff of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

He said that short-circuit was suspected to have triggered the fire, but an investigation was underway to ascertain the exact cause.