Fourteen people were killed and 16 injured after a massive fire broke out at the Kamala Mills compound in Mumbai's Lower Parel locality early on Friday, 29 December.
Khushboo Mehta was among the 14, and met with an unfortunate death on the eve of her birthday. She was celebrating her 28th birthday at ‘1 Above’ when the fire first broke out.
Khushboo’s grandfather, Babu Lal Mehta, said that there was an “illegal” bamboo structure on the rooftop that could easily catch fire. According to the police, Khushboo’s body was identified by her husband.
“My granddaughter was celebrating her 28th birthday today. She was married. The restaurant had a bamboo structure on its top that could easily catch fire. This restaurant had no fire extinguisher, no oxygen, no equipment to put out fires. The authorities failed terribly along with the complete failure of the civic bodies and police,” Mehta said.
Out of the total victims dead, eleven were women mostly in their twenties and early thirties. According to witnesses, bodies were recovered near the women’s washroom. The police believe the deaths were caused by suffocation.
The fire, which started at 12:30 am, had broken out in the presence of 150 people on the top floor. It then spread to ‘Mojo’ pub. Earlier, reports said that the fire had also spread to the London Taxi restaurant, but the premises have not been affected.
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