While 11 women and three men died in the ladies washroom on the ground floor of a building in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills Compound, doctors at civic-run KEM hospital confirmed the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning or death due to suffocation or asphyxiation. However, according to an eye-witness, security guards had insisted they remain inside a tiny washroom with barely any ventilation after a major fire broke out and prevented them from trying to open the washroom’s door.
Prateek Thakur (L) and Siddharth Shroff
Speaking to a group of journalists from his hospital bed in Bhatia hospital, Prateek Thakur, a 28-year-old businessman from Dadar, Mumbai, said, “That washroom was right next to the exit and a group of people, including my brother-in-law, Lokesh, had gone inside as they were unable to exit the building.”
“Lokesh informed us that the security guards stopped those people from trying to open the washroom’s door as they were afraid the fire would also spread inside there. Along with Lokesh, 1 Above’s DJ was also there and he fought with the security guards and made them open the door,” added Prateek.
As soon as they got the chance, Lokesh and the DJ, whose name is unknown escaped from the washroom where 14 more people were still trapped inside, breathing in toxic smoke the entire time. “If my brother-in-law had not managed to get out of that washroom, he wouldn’t be alive today,” said Prateek.
He further said that the fire had spread throughout the restaurant, 1 Above, where he was with his wife and relatives within a span of 30 seconds. “Everyone was in a highly inebriated state and didn’t even realise the severity of the situation. It was only when I started shouting that a fire was breaking out did they start running towards the exit but since there was a barricade, they had no idea where to go,” he said. Furthermore, 1 Above had no fire or safety exit and Prateek further added there was a 99 per cent chance that the fire was caused due to hookah as every restaurant or pub in that building offered hookah.
The Dadar resident suffered from 5 per cent burn injuries on his arms and said he sustained these injuries when he ran back into 1 Above to look for his wife, Toral. However, she had managed to escape from the building earlier than him.
This incident highlights the urgent need for fire drills and adequate training among security personnel and citizens on how to safely exit a building after a fire breaks out.
Another survivor admitted in Bhatia hospital, Siddharth Shroff said, “The fire broke out around 12:30 am and the fire spread from the roof and everyone ran for the exit, which was very narrow. The fire then started spreading rapidly and those who went to the washroom also got trapped inside there.”
Shroff had visited 1 Above with his cousins and the group was having a get-together. He says the desperate attempt of people to make it through the exit resulted in a stampede.
Shroff says after he finally managed to escape from the flames, he was taken to KEM hospital in Parel.
However, his cousin, Amit Shah suffered from 40 per cent burns and is currently in a critical condition. Shah is a non-residential Indian and had come to Mumbai to visit his relatives. He is now undergoing treatment in Bhatia hospital. Dr Rajeev Boudhankar, CEO of Bhatia hospital said that 15 patients with burn injuries were brought to the private hospital in the wee hours of Friday morning around 3am.
“Out of these, one person had minor injuries and was discharged within a few hours following treatment. While three other people—two men, and one woman—suffered from 15 to 30 per cent burns and had to be admitted. Two of them are still critical and the remaining 11 patients are stable and will be discharged in the next three days,” said Dr Boudhankar.
Meanwhile, there was an outrage on social media over this incident. Sanjay Nirupam, President of the Mumbai Congress Committee tweeted:
There r more than 50 restaurants running in a small #kamlamills complex. No one has proper fire audit. The pub in question where these innocents died just had one narrow exit. Flagrant violation of rules. Can #BMC hold Its officials accountable for this accident?
