PRATIK sustained burn injuries while frantically searching for his wife

Pratik Thakur (28) is one of the survivors of the fire incident who had visited 1Above along with his wife Toral(29) and her two brothers Mayank and Lokesh and family friends.

Pratik sustained twenty percent burn injuries. He is presently undergoing treatment at Bhatia hospital and has been admitted in room number 519. His treatment is being supervised under Dr Ashok Shah.

Speaking to the Free Press Journal, Pratik alleged that ninety percent of the fire was caused due to the hookah charcoal. Me and my wife were enjoying at the joint when suddenly we saw the fire engulfing. People started shouting for help. It was a panic situation. There were 150 people at the premises and people were literally pushing each other to reach the exit.”

“There were no fire safety equipments in place. Toral had managed to escape from the main staircase while Prateek was frantically looking for her. It was chaotic so people were jumping over each other and 10 to 15 people jumped over. Prateek was helping people to exit .While Toral had managed to escape from the staircase, Prateek was frantically searching for her in the crowd thinking that she may be trapped inside. Meanwhile Prateek was helping people to exit from the premises.

“Mayank asked to move towards the exit. I and Mayank moved out from the premises together. When I came outside, I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw my wife Toral safe and sound. When I came outside, I was informed that Toral’s brother Lokesh was trapped inside the men’s washroom. The DJ at 1Above too was inside the men’s washroom,” added Pratik.

“Around ten people were inside the men’s washroom. Fearing for their lives and unable to find the exit, people had rushed to the washroom. Since people were jostling for space, some even got pushed inside the bathroom,” said Pratik.

Toral said, “The security guard was unable to rescue Lokesh.The security guard feared that if they would move out from the washroom, they could have died. But Lokesh and the DJ finally managed to escape.”