A representative image of fire.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: Seven members of a family including three children died in a fire that broke out in a double-storey shop-cum-residential structure in the Chembur area of Mumbai on Sunday.
The fire broke out around 0500 hrs at the residential area of Siddharth Colony off the A N Gaikwad Marg in Chembur East, engulfing the house in flames.
Teams of the Mumbai civic body, fire brigade, and police rushed to the spot and controlled the fire after some time.
“The fire was confined to electric wiring, electric installation in the shop at ground floor and electric wiring, electric installation household article. The ground floor is used as a shop while the upper floor is residential (sic),” officials of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation said.
Five injured persons, who were rushed to the civic run Rajawadi Hospital, were pronounced dead on admission.
The deceased have been identified as Paris Gupta, (7), Manju Prem Gupta (30) Anita Gupta (39), Prem Gupta, (30), Narendra Gupta (10), Vidhi Chediram Gupta (15), and Gitadevi Dharamdev Gupta (60).
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Suspected short-circuit and goods in the shop are being suspected as the causes.
“We are investigating the exact cause of the fire. Forensic evidence is being collected from the site,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Hemraj Rajput.
The incident has sparked a fresh wave of concerns regarding fire safety in residential and commercial buildings in densely populated areas like Chembur.
"As soon as we local residents came to know about the incident, we swung into action to rescue the victims and alerted the fire brigade and police," a Siddharth Nagar resident said.