Eight of two families die in Mumbai pharmacy blaze

Mumbai, June 30  Eight persons, including three infants, were killed when a major fire engulfed a medical store in suburban Andheri in Mumbai early on Thursday, an official said.

Another three persons, including a fireman battling the blaze, have been injured. Of whom, a woman is in critical condition, said an official of BMC Disaster Control.

The cause of the fire - in Wafa Medical & General Stores - was unclear but it was so intense that it caught unawares the eight victims from two families living above the pharmacy store.

While six persons died due to suffocation caused by the toxic fumes, two sustained severe burns and succumbed, said the Disaster control.

The injured were rushed to the nearby Cooper Hospital at Juhu and two were discharged after treatment. One woman, Sofia Khan, 28, is being treated for up to 40 percent burns.

The pharmacy is situated in a chawl on the Juhu Gully in Andheri West and went up in flames around 6.15 a.m.

The devastating conflagration was brought under control within an hour by the fire brigade, the official said.

Those who died include: Husaif Khan (eight months), Tubah Khan and Altamas Khan (both three months old), Shagun N. Khan, 52, Siddik Khan, 35, Rabil Khan, 28, Umi Hami Khan, 5, and Aliza Khan, 4.

A fireman who sustained burns, Avinash K. Singhankar, 45, was given medical treatment, the Disaster Control said.