Mumbai: Barely a month after Metro 3, also known as the aqua line, between Aarey JVLR and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) was thrown open to the public, a fire broke out on Friday afternoon at an under-construction entry gate to the BKC station. Metro services at BKC were suspended for nearly 1.5 hours and some passengers and staff had to be evacuated as smoke accumulated in the underground platform. The fire was extinguished in around two hours and no injuries were reported in the incident.
“The fire led to leakage of smoke into the operational portion of the station premises. Operations at BKC station were paused as precautionary measure…Metro services in the rest of the section (Aarey JVLR to Bandra Colony) were in normal operation,” said a statement released by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL).
The fire erupted at around 1pm at a depth of 40-50 feet near the under-construction entry/ exit gate A4, said MMRCL officials. It was likely caused due to welding sparks landing on wooden construction material at the site, said divisional fire officer in-charge, Mahendra Mithbaonkar.
Though the fire was confined to wooden sheets, furniture and construction material, smoke started billowing from the entry/exit gate and filled the station premises underground, including the concourse and ticketing areas and the platform.
Eight fire tenders were pressed into service and fire brigade officers had to climb down through the pit of the under-construction gate to bring the blaze under control.
“We first attempted to reach the basement through the metro’s cranes, and then used a 46-metre-tall ladder to reach the basement through the dug-up portion on ground,” said Mithbaonkar. “Due to the smoke, we did not want to attack the fire only from the tunnels, we also chose to go at it from above. Water was shot at it from all sides.”
The fire was covered from all sides by 2:30pm and extinguished by 3:11pm.
“Though there was no smoke at the other end of the station, as a preventive measure, we evacuated the sparse number of passengers and staff,” said an MMRCL official.
When HT visited the station after services resumed, technical staff were seen inspecting the escalators while housekeeping staff were clearing the platforms of water.
The incident occurred less than a week after a technical snag on Saturday led to the metro being stuck underground between two stations for nearly an hour. Technical snags in the door closure system of trains were frequent in the first week of commercial operations, after prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the aqua line on October 12. Heavy rain had also prompted significant leakage and waterlogging at the Kalina metro station in October.
