Loss of life in Kamla Mills could have been averted, says Eyewitness

An eyewitness on 29 December said loss of life Kamla Mills fire could have been averted.

A huge fire broke out at Kamla Mills compound in Lower Parel locality of Mumbai in the wee hours of Friday in which 14 people were killed.

Sharad Jadhav, who works with TV9 Marathi channel that has office in Kamla Mills Compound, was one of the persons who witnessed the havoc created by fire.

"After talking to the injured, we came to know that first fire broke out at Moju Cafe, which wasn't a major one. Had it been controlled within time then there wouldn't have been loss of life and property. Since it wasn't controlled, fire engulfed nearby hotel. Today, 15 youngsters have lost life, who were country's future," Jadhav told ANI.

He questioned whether the cafe and the hotel had proper fire fighting equipments or not.

"The authorities should ascertain if cafe and hotel had fire fighting equipments then why didn't they extinguish fire? If they didn't have requisite fire extinguishers then also they must be punished," Jadhav said.

He recounted how at 12:30 am on Friday they came to know about a fire incident in the compound.

"I was in night shift. We received information about a fire incident at 12:30 am but the fire had broken out between 12:10-12:15. When me and my friend came to out looking for the accident spot then saw that the fire was massive. We ran back to our office and took out everyone. By the time we reached safe place, the roof of our office building collapsed," Jadhav said.

As per the reports, the building is located near various media houses, like Mirror Now, ET Now and Times Now.

-ANI