Thane, Nov 9 (PTI) As many as 50 persons were rescued after a major fire broke out at a 17-storey residential building in Maharashtra's Thane city, officials said on Monday.
The blaze erupted around 8.30 pm on Sunday, the day of Diwali, at the Carlyle building having 28 flats in the Raheja Garden complex in the city’s Wagle Estate area, they said.
No casualties were reported, Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC) regional disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also the guardian minister of Thane, visited the site to supervise the rescue operations and take stock of the situation.
The fire spread from the 7th to 14th floors and the duct of the high-rise tower, triggering a major emergency response. To combat the blaze and rescue the residents, authorities mobilised multiple fire tenders, two sky-lift fire engines, water tankers and ambulances.
Firefighters from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also joined the operations. Advanced tactical measures, including drones, were used to precisely locate the source of the fire and locate occupants trapped on the upper floors, he said.
The emergency responders later evacuated nearly 50 persons, guiding trapped residents to safety via the building's terrace and designated refuge areas, the official said.
The blaze was brought under control by 2.30 am on Monday, and cooling operations were underway. The cause of the fire is being probed, Tadvi said.
Thane Lok Sabha member Naresh Mhaske, TMC Commissioner Saurabh Rao, Collector Srikrishna Panchal and Mayor Sharmila Pimplolkar also visited the spot.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)