The populated and upscale Saki Naka area of Mumbai got an early morning shocker on the morning of Monday, 18th December when a fire broke out and consumed 12 lives at the very outset. At least 12 employees of a 'farsan' shop on the Khairani Road in Saki Naka were confirmed dead after being trapped in the fire that consumed the shop.
According to FireBrigade officials, the Fire Brigade control room received a call at around 4:17 a.m. and sent three fire engines and four jumbo tankers to the spot, which reached by 4:38 a.m. The fire that had broken out at the Bhanu Farsan shop in the Makhariya Compound on the Khairani Road early on Monday morning was extinguished within ten minutes, and inquiries with nearby residents established that several workers at the shop were sleeping inside when the tragedy struck.
“The fire started at the ground floor-level and the people inside were sleeping on the loft. They got trapped in the 60 by 30 feet structure due to the intense heat and smoke and the loft subsequently collapsed,” said Chief Fire Officer P. S. Rahangdale, Mumbai Fire Brigade.
After cooling operations were complete, officials started sifting through the wrecked shop for victims and removed 12 charred bodies from the wreckage. Officials with the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation confirmed that 12 unidentified dead bodies had been sent to the Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. All the injured were rushed to Rajawadi hospital for treatment. There were still reports of some people being trapped inside the structure at the time of reporting this.
The Saki Naka police were working on identifying the deceased as well as probing to find out the fire safety measures taken by the shop owner. The Fire Brigade said it would soon be submitting its report to the police regarding the cause of the fire, which is believed to have been triggered by a short circuit.
Under Age Victim of the Sakinaka Fire Tragedy Raises New Queries
Troubles for the owner of the Farsan shop that was gutted by a fire on 18th December only compounded with the issue of an alleged under age worker who died coming to light. The Sakinaka police are now attempting to establish whether one of the 12 killed in the fire in a farsan store on Monday was in fact a minor worker of the shop, or a visitor of one of the employees.
“We are trying to find out whether the boy actually worked there as some witnesses have claimed, or whether he was staying as a visitor of one the shop employees,” said an officer at Sakinaka police station. The police are also waiting for families of the deceased to arrive in Mumbai. “Once his family is here, we will examine the birth certificate of the deceased. If he is found to be below 18 years of age, we will additionally book the shop owner under the Juvenile Justice Act and intimate the court about it,” said the officer.
The bodies of the 12 men, found at the back of the store and charred beyond recognition, have been identified, said the police. Statements of employees who escaped the blaze have been taken. A senior police official said employees who were asleep in the front of the shop tried to help others at the back escape. “But it seems those at the back did not try to move as they may have panicked at the sight of flames and smoke,” said the officer. While those who escaped the fire initially told the police and fire brigade that there was no one left inside, the discovery of the 12 men huddled in a corner was only made after the fire brigade had put out the fire and completed cooling operations.
The shop owner, Ramesh Bhanushali, is in police custody and has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after his arrest on Monday.
