A massive fire broke out at the Enforcement Directorate office building in south Mumbai’s Ballard Estate area in the wee hours of Sunday, with officials saying that no injuries were reported.
Around 2:31 am, the fire brigade was called about a blaze at the multistorey Kaiser-I-Hind building, near the Grand Hotel on Currimbhoy Road, which houses the ED office, a news agency PTI report said.
While fire brigade teams and rescue personnel were rushed to the team for the firefighting, and around 3:30 am, the fire got upgraded to Level-II. The fire brigade control room confirmed that this level generally means a major fire.
Later, at around 4:17 am, the blaze was again upgraded to Level-III.
A civic official also said that the fire was limited to the fourth floor of the five-storey building.
As many as eight fire engines, six jumbo tankers, an aerial water tower tender, one breathing apparatus van, a rescue van, a quick response vehicle, and an ambulance were also deployed to the scene. Firefighting is underway.
The official also noted that the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Other incidents
In another incident, a fire erupted at a car showroom in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on Saturday night, gutting five vehicles. A fire officer said that the blaze caused significant damage before it was brought under control, adding that no injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, in another incident in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar, at least three women were killed and six others injured after a massive explosion took place at a fireworks factory.
The incident took place at M Pudupatti near Sivakasi, a PTI report said. Officials noted that the charred remains of the three women were recovered from the accident site, while many other women have been hospitalised.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin condoled the loss of lives and announced an ex gratia of ₹4 lakh each to the families. He approved ₹1 lakh each to those with serious injuries and ₹50,000 to those simply hurt.
Last month, a massive fire broke out in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area of Navi Mumbai’s Shiravane.
At the time, 12 fire engines were rushed to the spot and no injuries were reported from the incident.
