10.00pm Two bodies found in Mantralaya.
6.25pm: A special naval team is at the Mantralaya building even as the Mumbai police ordered an investigation into the cause of the fire that gutted several floors of the secretariat. The fire finally looked to be under control, a full two and a half hours after it first broke out.
5.55pm: The latest reports coming from Mantralaya state that all those trapped as a result of the fire have been rescued. Several injured have been admitted to hospital, but no one is believed to be in much danger.
5.22pm: The CBI has said that all the files relevant to the Adarsh scam are safe with the courts and have not been damaged as a result of the Mantralaya fire. Earlier there were reports that the Adarsh files may have been damaged as the fourth floor that initially caught fire had housed the documents relating to the scam.
5.15pm: Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ajit Pawar has said that the Adarsh files may have been damaged as a result of the massive fire that is still raging at the Mumbai Mantralaya.
Meanwhile 11 people who were injured have reportedly been admitted to the JJ hospital, GT hospital and St George hospital.
5.00pm: Marine commandoes are reportedly on stand-by even as rescue operations continue at the Mumbai Mantralaya building. Choppers have been deployed to try and rescue people from the roof, while 25 fire engines are also at the spot.
Meanwhile latest reports say that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister’s offices have been gutted in the fire.
4.50pm: Naval choppers have been deployed in an effort to rescue people who are still feared trapped on the sixth floor of the Mumbai Mantralaya building which caught fire earlier this evening. The Mantralaya houses the state secretariat in south Mumbai and the fire is believed to have damaged damaging hundreds of files that are stocked in the administrative headquarters of the state.
Reports on television suggested that despite the building being evacuated there were still 30 persons trapped in the building.
The fire brigade is trying to communicate to people trapped inside the building to move on to the rooftops, so that the choppers can pick them up. Television channels showed visuals of people trying to clamber down pipes and huddling on ledges in an effort to escape the fire.
Meanwhile sources told Firstpost that the fire was believed to have originated in the Urban development department, which also houses files relating to Adarsh. There is still no confirmation on what files, if any, have been destroyed due to the blaze.
3.55pm: A massive fire has broken out in the Maharashtra Secretariat building. The fire reportedly broke out at NCP minister Babanrao Pachpute’s office, the sources said. Pachpute is the Minister for Forests in the state.
Image courtesy: subjudiced on Twitter
Six fire engines have rushed to the spot, fire brigade officials said, adding that so far, there are no reports of any casualties.
The Maharashtra Chief Secretary has ordered immediate evacuation of the entire building, sources said.
Pachpute said the fire has spread to the Chief Minister’s office on the sixth floor.
Thousands of officials at Mantralaya, which houses the state Secretariat, were seen standing outside as fire fighters battled the blaze, which was suspected to have been caused by a short-circuit.
with inputs from PTI
