- Television channels said nearly 100 people may be trapped in the building that houses the office of state-owned telecoms company MTNL
- “The fire has been confined to the third and fourth floor of the building,” the fire department said
MUMBAI: A major fire broke out on Monday in a nine-story government building in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, with several people feared trapped, fire officials said.
Television channels said nearly 100 people may be trapped in the building that houses the office of state-owned telecoms company MTNL.
“The fire has been confined to the third and fourth floor of the building,” the fire department, which has dispatched 14 fire engines to the site, said in a text message.
A Reuters witness said five or six people were on a balcony on one floor, with some waving white handkerchiefs.
An officer said 14 fire engines at the site are evacuating people using hydraulic platforms in the city's Bandra area.
Television images showed people breaking window panes and waving to fire officers to evacuate them. No casualties were immediately reported.
A woman rescued by fire services told the New Delhi Television news channel that 30 to 40 people were waiting to be evacuated from the building, with the third and fourth floors filled with smoke.
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.