One person was killed, and 12 others were hospitalised after a major fire broke out at the five-storey Vishwas building in Ghatkopar East on Saturday afternoon. According to fire officials, thick smoke and the presence of electric cables and other flammable material, made it challenging to carry out the operation. 

As per preliminary details, the fire broke out at 2.08 pm. “It was triggered in the electric meter room of the building,” fire officials said. According to sources, the building is around 40 years old. Eyewitness Sham Mishra told mid-day that the flames started from the ground floor and reached up to the fifth floor. Most of the people who experienced suffocation and suffered burns were from Parakh Hospital, the hotel, and the coaching class, which were located in the same building.