Bhayandar: Twenty-one residents, including four children, were injured after a fire broke out in the meter box of a seven-storey residential building in Bhayandar East shortly after midnight on Friday, officials said. Thick smoke engulfed the building, trapping several occupants inside their flats before firefighters evacuated all 104 residents safely.The incident occurred at around 1.30 am at Aquarius Tower in Govind Nagar, near the old petrol pump. According to fire officials, the blaze started in the electrical meter box on the ground floor and quickly filled the staircase and common passages with dense smoke, cutting off the residents’ escape route.Teams from the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation’s fire brigade rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. Firefighters entered the smoke-filled building, evacuated all occupants and brought the blaze under control within 15 to 20 minutes.Of the 21 people who suffered smoke inhalation, four are children, while the others include women and men. The injured were shifted to Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Government Hospital and private hospitals, including Haidary Hospital and Pooja Hospital.Chief Fire Officer Prakash Borade said the prompt rescue operation prevented any loss of life. Nine of the injured were discharged after treatment, while the remaining patients continue to be under medical observation. One of the injured, 62-year-old Istrar Ansari, a heart patient, remains in the intensive care unit and is stated to be in a critical condition.
