Elderly woman dies, 22 hospitalised after fire in residential building in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: A 65-year-old woman died and 22 others hospitalised after a fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in Ahmedabad's Bopal locality, police said on Saturday.

The blaze erupted around 10:40 pm on Friday on the 8th floor of the 21-storey Iskon Platina building, an official of Bopal police station said.

"The fire soon spread to the 21st floor of the high-rise, leaving one woman dead and 22 others injured," he said.

More than 200 residents were evacuated from the building and a dozen fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames, Additional Chief Fire Officer Mithun Mistry said.

A short-circuit in the electric duct on the 8th floor of the building appeared to be behind the fire, but the exact cause was being ascertained, a fire official said.

The injured persons were rushed to a nearby private hospital, where the elderly woman, identified as Milaben Shah, died, officials sad, adding that the firefighting operation continued till 3:40 am on Saturday.