4 including 6-year-old girl, burned alive as fire engulfs house; 11 others injured

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): A tragic accident occurred in the Vashi area of Navi Mumbai adjacent to Mumbai early Tuesday morning. A massive fire broke out in a building in the Raheja Complex in Vashi at around 2 a.m. last night killing four people including a six-year-old girl. Eleven other people were hospitalized with burn injuries.

According to reports, the fire broke out around 2 a.m. while everyone was asleep. The fire spread so quickly that it engulfed three apartments preventing the sleeping residents from escaping.

NMMC Chief Fire Officer Purushottam Jadhav said four people were found dead during the rescue operation. They were identified as Vaidik Balakrishna (6 years old), Kamal Hiralal Jain (84 years old), Sundar Balakrishnan (46 years old) and Pooja Rajan (39 years old).

The fire official said that after a lot of effort, the fire brigade rescued about 10 to 15 other people safely from the building. Eleven people were injured in the incident and were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Some of the injured were identified as Manabendra Bhimcharan Ghosh (69 years), Malika Manabendra Ghosh (58 years), Ritika Manabendra Ghosh (39 years), Bhavana Mahavir Jain (49 years), Mahavir Hiralal Jain (51 years), Krish Mahavir Jain (21 years), Nirmal Hiralal Jain (53 years), Mehul Hiralal Jain (32 years) and Sumanti John Topno (18 years).

According to the police, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and an investigation has been initiated into the matter.