One falls to death as fire breaks out in 61-storey Mumbai building

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) One person was killed in a major fire which broke out on the 19th floor of a 61-storey residential building in south Mumbai on Friday, creating panic among the residents, before it was extinguished, officials said on Friday.

The blaze, with tongues of flames leaping upwards in the strong winds and thick clouds of smoke billowing out, was reported from Avigna Park building in Currey Road around noon, sending the residents scurrying out to safety from the nearly 250-metre-tall building.

One panic-stricken man was seen coming out of the burning floor, clambering on a ledge and hanging onto a column, but ended up losing his balance and falling to his death deep below.

He was identified as Arun Tiwari, 30, according to the BMC Disaster Control, and the video of plunge to death went viral, shocking Mumbaikars.

At least 15 fire-tenders rushed to the spot and battled the conflagration, attempting to stop the flames from spreading to the higher floors, while Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar, BMC Commissioner I.S. Chahal, local elected representatives and others reached the spot to oversee the rescue operations.

A majority of the residents managed to evacuate themselves, including several senior citizens and children before the blaze was brought under control after nearly five hours and cooling operations were taken up.

The cause of the blaze, tentatively believed to be due to a short-circuit, is being probed by the Mumbai Police and Fire Brigade and the building reportedly has all fire safety measures in place, as per its residents.