Man killed in Mumbai timber godown fire, nearby mall & buildings evacuated

Mumbai, Jan 26 (IANS) One person was killed when a major fire broke out in a timber warehouse in the congested Chor Bazaar area of South Mumbai, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Friday. The blaze was reported around 2 a.m. from the timber godown spread over 7000-8000 sq.feet in the Kamathipura vicinity, plus other shops and hotels.The Mumbai Fire Brigade, Police and other agencies rushed to the spot and launched the firefighting operations, with over 16 fire tenders deployed there.The conflagration had spread through the timber stocks, electrical wiring, some stocks of chemicals and so were affected around 400-500 other commercial establishments in the immediate neighborhood.As a precaution, the authorities have vacated the Platinum Mall and people living in a skyscraper adjacent to the timber godown as the flames continue to spread.Around dawn, the rescue teams recovered a fully charred body of an unidentified male from a bathroom in the godown premises. Efforts are on to ascertain if there are more victims in the tragedy, and the cause of the fire is not yet known.--IANSqn/dpb

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