Eight members of two families die in Maharashtra textile unit fire

Mumbai | Eight members of two families, including a toddler, died in a devastating fire that raged through a textile factory for almost 13 hours in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Sunday, officials said.

Three Fire Brigade personnel were injured during firefighting, which stretched till 8 PM, involving 100 water tankers, fire tenders, and several personnel of different fire brigades.

Prima facie, a short in the circuit triggered the blaze around 3:45 am at Central Textile Mills situated in the Akkalkot Road in Solapur MIDC, around 400 km from Mumbai.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the fire tragedy and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000, the PM stated on X.

Modi stated that he was pained by the loss of lives due to a fire tragedy in Solapur, Maharashtra.

"Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon," the prime minister added.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also expressed condolences and announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased.

The deceased individuals include the factory owner, Haji Usman Hasanbhai Mansuri (80) and three members of his family, namely his grandson Anas Hanif Masuri (25), his wife Shifa Anas Mansuri (20), and their one-and-a-half-year-old son Yusuf Mansuri.

The bodies of the Mansuri family were found inside the bedroom of a structure on the premises of the factory by Fire Brigade personnel who had to dismantle the wall to gain entry.

Officials said Yusuf was found in the arms of his mother.

The other four were either workers or their family members.

They were identified as a worker, Mehtab Sayyad Bagwan (45), his wife, Ashabanu (38), their son, Salman (20) and daughter Hina (26).

All the victims were fast asleep when the fire broke out, an official said.

While three of the eight victims died of serious burn injuries, five others choked to death due to inhalation of smoke that had engulfed the entire unit, officials said.

After three bodies were found, it took almost 13 hours for fire brigade personnel to reach five other individuals who were stuck in the massive blaze.

According to officials, the five rushed to the bedroom to save themselves but got stuck inside.

"They suffered serious burn injuries and suffocation. They were rushed to a state-run hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival," an official said.

Fire tenders from the Solapur Municipal Corporation, municipal councils of Pandharpur and Akkalkot, MIDC, and NTPC were mobilised to douse the fire.

An official said more than a hundred water tankers were pressed into service.

"The blaze was controlled around 5 PM, but it erupted again during the cooling operation. It was doused around 8 pm," he said.