A fire in the 10-storey Panna Ali Mansion near Masjid Bunder resulted in the deaths of a 21-year-old student and her mother, and left five others injured

MUMBAI: A 21-year-old college student and her mother were killed and five others injured after a fire in a 10-storey building, Panna Ali Mansion, near Masjid Bunder around 6.15am Sunday. Three of the injured are from the same family as the deceased; one of them is critical, reports Sanjeev Devasia.

Collegian, mom die in early morning fire in 10-storey bldg

Fire brigade officials said Sabila Shaikh (42) and Shaziya, a BPharm student, and died due to suffocation as they climbed down the stairs instead of going to the terrace or staying in their eight-floor flat.
Official said the fire broke out in the ground-floor meter cabin and was confined to the electric wiring and installations on the ground floor. The building has only one-entry-exit, said a fire official.
The family of Saud Alam Shaikh (48) lived on the eighth floor of the building near Masjid Bunder where fire broke out on Sunday. The fire did not spread to the upper floors of Panna Ali Mansion, on Issaji Street, Vadgadi.
“As smoke spread, occupants moved to the terrace. As smoke reached the upper levels, the now-deceased, Saud’s daughter Shaziya (21) and wife Sabila (42), along with another daughter Shaheen (22), also went to the terrace. Saud and his son Adil (24) stayed inside their flat near a window. As the terrace became crowded, the three women descended to the lower floors and became separated due to poor visibility owing to smoke,” said a friend of Adil. “Shajiya and Sabila came all the way down, trying to get out of the building. They may not have known that the fire had originated from the ground floor. Saud and Adil too suffered suffocation injuries, but they are out of danger.”
The fire brigade found the two on the mezzanine floor. Shaziya was a third-year BPharm student. Another person, Karim Shaikh (20; unrelated), who similarly tried to come down from the eighth floor, suffered suffocation injuries and is admitted to GT Hospital. “Karim, who is from Jharkhand and works in a mobile accessories shop at Manish Market, lived in a flat along with six others. The others stayed in the flat or went to the terrace,” said Mehboob Shaikh (also unrelated), who lives in an adjoining flat on the eighth floor. “The floors above the ground floor had a plastic godown and if the fire had spread to the upper floors, it would have been disastrous.”
A fire brigade official said, “The staircase had no ventilation, and the building was a mix of residential and commercial units. The fire, prima facie, was caused by electric failure. The flat of the deceased has two doors. We don’t know why they stepped out and tried to come down. Many occupants of the building had stayed put in their rooms close to the windows. One family on the sixth floor, in fact, broke the grill of their window and got on to the terrace of another building. Around 12 occupants got out of the building through this grill. A portion of the terrace was occupied with a bamboo shed and even a toilet was created on the terrace. Ward officials are expected to inspect the building.”
Of the injured, (from the same family) Saud and Shaheen Shaikh are admitted to JJ Hospital, while Adil was discharged. Karim Shaikh, as mentioned, is in GT Hospital. Another, Nakis Surti, was taken to the hospital, but he left, and it is not clear where.