Ten-year-old girl saves 16 lives in fire at Mumbai’s Crystal Tower by creating air purifiers out of cotton

Zen Sadavarte, a 10-year-old student, emerged a hero in the fire that broke out in a residential building Crystal Tower near Hindmata Cinema in Mumbai’s Parel. She was responsible for saving many lives by taking charge and assisting the safe evacuation of people caught in the fire.

Zen, who was present inside the building when the fire broke out, said that as soon as her family saw the smoke entering their house, she opened the windows and knocked on her neighbours’ doors to alert them. She says she made a purifier with cotton and water for each person and asked them to inhale and exhale through it until help came. As a result, they were able to withstand the smoke long enough to be rescued by the fire department.

DNA reported that she credited her school teacher, who told her that it is essential to remain calm in the event of a fire and to use wet clothes.

The fire brigade control room got a message at 8.32 am about the blaze on the 12th floor of the 17-storey building. The smoke from the raging fire spread rapidly , trapping the residents in the stairs, Mumbai Fire Brigade chief PS Rahangdale told News18 . Sixteen people suffered from suffocation due to the smoke. They were rushed to the nearby KEM Hospital, where two of them were declared brought dead, the city civic body said in a statement.

Around 100 people are said to have been rescued.

With inputs from Natasha Trivedi