At least 14 people, including 11 women, were killed and 55 others injured when an inferno gutted three upmarket dining restaurants and pubs, including Mojo’s Bistro lounge, in the happening Kamala Mills compound at lower Parel in south-central Mumbai in the wee hours of Friday.
A majority of those killed in the tragedy were suffocated to death as fire broke out in Mojo’s Bistro lounge and spread to neighbouring ‘1 Above’ casual dining restaurant and london Taxi Gastropub at Trade House building in the luxurious building complex.
There were in all 25 women among the 55 person injured in the accident. Of the injured, 41 people were treated and allowed to go home from different hospitals, while 13 are undergoing treatment at Bhatia Hospital and the remaining one is admitted to the National Burns Centre at Airoli in Navi Mumbai.
More than a dozen fire tenders rushed to fight the blaze which was finally brought under control and extinguished around 7 am. However, even after the fire was brought under control, there were reports of smouldering fire in the area.
Eyewitness accounts said that anywhere between 150 to 200 people were trapped in the blaze when the fire enveloped the three crowded restaurants and pubs and spread to neighbouring establishments, disrupting among other things operations at the various television channels of Times Network, where operations were suspended and all of its employees were evacuated safely.
People ran helter-skelter as the affected restaurants and pubs were up in leaping flames and the area came under a thick cloud of toxic fumes.
New Year-eve get-togethers and birthday parties were on at all the three restaurants-cum-pubs when the fire broke out. Among those killed in the mishap was Khushboo Jayesh Bhansali, who was celebrating her 29th birthday in a restaurant with her husband and their friend when the incident took place.
Among others killed were two brothers Dhairya lalani (26) and Vishwa lalani (23), who were on a holiday in Mumbai from the US. They had returned to the Kamala Mill compound in search of their aunt. The three were celebrating a New Year-eve party with other friends at the ‘1 Above’ restaurant and pub.
There were conflicting versions about the the cause of the fire. While the initial reports said the fire had been triggered by a short-circuit, there was other theories like un-extinguished cigarette-butts or curtain catching fire because of a hukkah being inhaled by a customer in one of the restaurants might have sparked fire.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Congress president Rahul Gandhi are among the prominent personalities who expressed grief over the incident and offered their condolences to the families of the victims.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who visited the mishap site in the afternoon and took stock of the situation, announced that five officials of the Brihanmumbai Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had been suspended after they were found guilty of giving illegal permissions, while a criminal offence had been registered against the owners and managers of the affected restaurants and pubs.
“There is no question of sparing any one found guilty of any irregularity. I have asked BMC Municipal Commissioner to hold a comprehensive inquiry into the incident and submit a report to the state government,” Fadnavis said.
Similarly, the Chief Minister ordered immediate demolition of illegal structures in the Kamala Mill compound and directed the authorities concerned to conduct a safety audit of the establishments located in the compound.
“The post-mortem conducted on the fire victims revealed that a majority of them had either due to asphyxia or after inhaling poisonous fumes from the burning materials,” Dean of the KEM Hospital Dr Avinash Supe said.
Kamala Mill compound, located in south-central Mumbai, has become destination for money people and elite classes in recent years.
There are many major corporate offices, TV-radio-print media set-ups, at least 20 to 25 high-end restaurants, pubs, etc.
The Times Network with offices of all its major channels in the same complex was affected temporarily. “The magnitude of fire was huge, disrupting our operations temporarily. All our employees were evacuated safely,” a statement issued by the media organisation said.
“After the disruption, Times Now, Times Now HD, ET Now and Mirror Now are operational by late morning, while Movies Now, Movies Now HD, MN+, MNX HD, Romedy Now, Romedy Now HD, and Zoom would be back on air shortly,” a Times Network spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirit Somaiya came down heavily on the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC for lapses on its part that led to the blaze. He demanded a complete fire audit of all buildings in the city.
leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress alleged corruption in the BMC had led to the illegal constructions in the compound. He demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the incident.
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam demanded stringent action against those responsible for allowing the illegal eateries in the compound.
Congress legislator Nitesh Rane claimed that a hookah parlour had caused the fire and not a short circuit as was speculated. He alleged that Mojo and another restaurant are only issued food licences, but not for serving hookahs to customers.
Yuva Sena president Aditya Thackeray, who had in the recent past gone whole-hog for promoting nightlife in Mumbai, said implementation of fire safety norms was a must and BMC would come down hard on violators.