MUMBAI: A fire in Siddharth Colony , a slum in Chembur (E), early Sunday killed 7 members of a family, including 3 minors, while 2 others sustained minor injuries. It erupted at 5am, tearing through their ground-plus-two home, sparing only family head Chedilal Gupta and one of his two sons, Dharamdev. The fire was extinguished hours later, at 9.15am.
Chedilal's wife Gitadevi was sleeping on the ground floor, which houses a grocery shop with kerosene and other items. Locals believe a lit diya on the floor may have sparked the fire, with kerosene fuelling it.
Mumbai frequently witnesses blazes in informal housing settlements and narrow lanes which make entry for fire brigade difficult.
In the first 7 months of this year, the city has had 3,197 fire incidents - with fire brigade data showing that 70% incidents occurred due to an electrical fault - resulting in 8 deaths and 112 injuries.
The smell of kerosene lingered at the site. Assistant municipal commissioner for M-West ward Vishwas Mote said the "exact cause" of the blaze is under investigation. "There was a stock of palm oil in the house as well, that rescue teams came across."
The fire brigade said three people were rescued from the first floor with a ladder and taken to Zen Hospital in an ambulance, before being shifted to Rajawadi Hospital. Four persons were rescued from the second floor after a forced entry from an adjacent building.
Chedilal's wife Gitadevi was sleeping on the ground floor, which houses a grocery shop with kerosene and other items. Locals believe a lit diya on the floor may have sparked the fire, with kerosene fuelling it.
Mumbai frequently witnesses blazes in informal housing settlements and narrow lanes which make entry for fire brigade difficult.
In the first 7 months of this year, the city has had 3,197 fire incidents - with fire brigade data showing that 70% incidents occurred due to an electrical fault - resulting in 8 deaths and 112 injuries.
The smell of kerosene lingered at the site. Assistant municipal commissioner for M-West ward Vishwas Mote said the "exact cause" of the blaze is under investigation. "There was a stock of palm oil in the house as well, that rescue teams came across."
The fire brigade said three people were rescued from the first floor with a ladder and taken to Zen Hospital in an ambulance, before being shifted to Rajawadi Hospital. Four persons were rescued from the second floor after a forced entry from an adjacent building.
