Juhu blaze: Six charred to death in cylinder blast at construction site
TRAGIC TALE Victims were trapped in makeshift rooms made for labourers to stay
● Six people died and 18 others suffered serious burn injuries after a LPG cylinder exploded at an under-construction site of a high-rise at Vile Parle (west) on Wednesday night at 10:10 pm. The injured were immediately rushed to the nearby civic-run Cooper Hospital where the condition of three is said to be critical. The late night horror occurred while the labourers were cooking dinner.
After the blaze, victims were trapped in 6X10 feet boxlike makeshift rooms covered with tin-sheet and wooden walls made for labourers to stay. There were more than a dozen such makeshift rooms where the labourers, mostly north Indians and from West Bengal, were given temporary accommodation.
The major fire destroyed the ground floor of 13-storey Prarthana Building near Kaifi Azmi Park in Juhu.
The deceased have been identified as Diler Khan, Ronnie Shaikh (22), Vikram (20), Sunil Gautam (30), Anil Gautam (24) and Shagun (6).
The zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Paramjit Singh Dahiya said, “A case has been registered against three people including the builder and contractor for negligent conduct.”
Chief Fire Officer Prabhat Rahangdale said, “Ten of the 17 people rushed to Cooper Hospital were taken before the arrival of the fire brigade.” The bodies were so badly charred that they could not be recognised. The police took the help of other labourers to identity them. The blaze was brought under control in an hour.
No arrest has been made so far. A senior cop has said that an illegal structure was built next to the under-construction site and the labourers were using illegal gas connection.