One dead, one injured in fire at residential building in Mumbai's Colaba; fourteen rescued from level-2 blaze

Mumbai: A fire broke out in a four-storey residential building located behind the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on Sunday, leaving one person dead and another seriously injured, officials said. Fourteen people have so far been rescued from the Churchill Chamber building where the blaze erupted shortly after noon, they said. The deceased has been identified as 54-year-old Shyam Aiyar. The fire brigade got a call around 12.17 pm about the blaze in the ground plus four-storey building, located on Merry Weather Road, a fire official said. “Following the level-2 fire, smoke engulfed the entire premises,” he said. Fire fighters rushed to the spot and managed to rescue 14 people, including some senior citizens, with the help of ladders, the official said.  Some of those rescued complained of breathing problems due to inhalation of smoke and were admitted to a state-run hospital, he said. A search was underway for those trapped in the building, he said. The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said, adding that four fire engines and as many water tankers were at the spot and efforts were still on to douse the flames.   Level 2 fire breaks out in Mumbai’s Churchill Chamber building near Taj Mahal hotel; several feared trapped, rescue ops underway