Fire in India's financial capital kills at least 12

Fire in India's financial capital kills at least 12

By Swati Bhat and Rajendra Jadhav

Firemen inspect the debris after a fire at a restaurant in Mumbai, India, December 29, 2017. REUTERS/ Danish Siddiqui

MUMBAI (Reuters) - At least 12 people died and three were critically injured in a late night fire at a multi-storey building in India's financial capital Mumbai, local authorities said on Friday.

The majority of those killed were women attending a birthday party at a rooftop restaurant, police said. The 28-year-old woman celebrating her birthday was among those who died, her grandfather told Reuters.

The fire department received a call about the blaze in a commercial building in the Kamala Mills compound in Central Mumbai around 0030 local time (1900 GMT) on Friday, an official said.

Kamala Mills, a refurbished industrial compound, houses swanky restaurants and other commercial establishments.

The fire in the building started on the top floor and engulfed the structure in less than 30 minutes, local media reported.

Several media outlets also use the compound for their offices and at least three national news channels were affected by the fire, including Bennett Coleman and Co's Times Now and ET Now.

(Reporting by Swati Bhat, Rajendra Jadhav and Danish Siddiqui in Mumbai; Writing by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-12-29