Fire breaks out at government building in Mumbai, 3 dead

A massive fire broke out at the Maharashtra state government headquarters in the capital Mumbai yesterday, killing three people and injuring 15 others.

Indian media reported that the fire broke out at the eight-story Mantralaya building, the headquarters of the Maharashtra state government, at 2:35 p.m. local time and lasted for several hours in India's financial and entertainment capital.

New Delhi Television News reported that around 2,500 state employees and around 2,000 civilians were present in the building at the time of the fire. The Mantralaya building has multiple entrances and is heavily secured.

The fire engulfed the upper four floors of the eight-story building.

According to some sources, the fire started on the fourth floor and quickly engulfed the top four floors of the building. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's office is on the sixth floor.

Local television showed thick black smoke billowing from the 57-year-old building.

In horrific scenes, many staff - including women on upper floors - tried to escape from the building, climbing onto balconies or sitting on window sills to wait to be rescued.

Dozens of fire engines and hundreds of firefighters are battling the blaze and assisting with rescue efforts at the scene. Firefighters used specialized equipment to evacuate trapped people and two navy helicopters were also deployed to help evacuate people from the roof.
By last night, the bodies of three people had been found at the scene. Fifteen others were also injured in the fire.

The fire burned thousands of sensitive documents, computers...

The cause of the fire is still unknown. Some believe an electrical short circuit may have been the cause.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has asked the police to investigate the cause of the incident.

According to AFP, AP, NDTV - NT