Mumbai fire: 'Most people died due to asphyxiation', says docs

Suffocation and not burn injuries caused most of the deaths in the fire at Kamala Mills compound in Mumbai, revealed the post-mortem report. The fire, which claimed 14 lives, started from the restaurant, "1 Above", in in central Mumbai's Lower Parel locality.

"Almost all died to asphyxiation, none of them have died to flames but due to fumes. A proper evacuation plan could have avoided this," Dr. Harish Pathak, the forensic department head at KEM Hospital, told news agency ANI.

Dr Rajesh Dere of King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital, who performed the post-mortems, also confirmed the same.

Meanwhile, BMC Mayor Vishvanath Mahadeshwar said that a probe has been ordered into the incident and action would be taken against those found responsible.

The BJP MP from Mumbai, Kirit Somaiya, trained his gun at the BMC and said, "BMC officials are responsible for the murder of people in Kamala Mills fire, second such incident in two weeks, when will the BMC wake up?".

After the mishap, the BMC is now reportedly planning a crackdown on all 30 restaurants in the compound.

According to reports, some portion of the rooftop restaurant '1 Above', where the fire broke out, was illegal. A notice was also served by the BMC regarding the illegal construction.

Fire-fighters took more than three hours to douse the huge flames that leapt up in central Mumbai's nightlife hub. The fire is suspected to have started a little after 12.30 am and spread quickly. The injured were taken to the KEM, and Sion hospitals.

OneIndia News