Mumbai: Four killed in Kandivili garment factory fire

Four persons were charred to death in a fire that gutted a cloth godown at suburban Kandivli in Mumbai on Sunday, an official said on Monday. The workers died after a structure of the factory collapsed due to the fire, which broke out in three shops of Ramlut Garment Company near MIDC bus stop around 4 pm, said an official from the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). “Four casualties were recovered from the debris of the godown by fire personnel who were conduction fire-fighting operations at the spot by 5 am on Monday”, the official said.

The four men were rushed to Shatabdi Hospital where they were declared dead on arrival. They have been identified as Rajesh Vishwakarma, 36, Raju Vishwakarma, 30, Bhavesh Parekh, 51 and Sudama Lallan Singh, 36. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

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The fire was extinguished by 7.40pm but agencies continued their rescue operation for those feared to be trapped inside the debris. The operation continued till 6 am on Monday. When asked about the identity of the deceased, the official said prima facie they are workers but it is yet to be confirmed. Officials stated that the fire was confined in three garment units --- all ground plus one structure. All the materials at the unit including readymade garments on the loft, cotton thread stock, packing material, cargo box, furniture, machinery, partition and rolling shutter were destroyed in the fire.

“The fire was confined to electric wiring, electric installation, garment and packaging material, machinery and furniture of the three garment shops. The fire was doused earlier, however, it was a challenging task since there were people who were trapped inside the debris and time was running out,” the senior fire official said.

The incident happened just a week after a massive fire in Andheri’s Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Kamgar Hospital. Nine people, including a six-month-old baby, died in the fire and more than 180 were rescued from the hospital. Two days later, there was another fire at the hospital at the same facility late. However, nobody was injured.