Mumbai: Seven people were killed and 26 others injured in a major fire that engulfed three floors of a 21-storeyed building in the upmarket Powai area of Mumbai on Saturday evening, an official said.
The fire broke out at around 5.30 PM on the 14th floor of Lake Luceme building in Chandivali area and spread to the two floors above.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Pradip Sonawane told PTI that seven people, including one woman, died, while 26 others were injured.
The fire had been brought under control by late evening, he said. The injured were shifted to Hiranandani Hospital, where the condition of two was said to be serious, the ACP said.
Initial reports said that the victims got trapped in a stalled lift and died of suffocation.
According to preliminary reports, the residents who died suffocated in the lift when they were trying to escape the flames.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear, but the blaze was brought under control by 10 p.m. Rescue and relief operations were still on.
One fire officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade sustained injuries while battling the blaze, but his condition is reported to be stable in a hospital.
The fire brigade deployed at least 15 fire tenders, including a sophisticated snorkel which managed to reach the affected floors for dousing the blaze and also rescuing the trapped residents.
