One dead, one critical in AC blast near Mahim dargah

Hindustan Times

a day ago

MUMBAI: One person died and seven others were injured, one of them critically, due to an explosion in the outdoor unit of an air-conditioner (AC) of a food outlet in Mahim on Friday. The deceased and critically injured individual were technicians repairing the ACs of the outlet, located near the famous Makhdoom Shah Dargah on Cadell Road.
Onlookers said the explosion was so fierce that the technicians were flung several feet onto the street. The blast also damaged the façade of the eaterie and the flat above.
'The technicians had come a day earlier too, returning on Friday to continue the repairs,' said Rizwan Khan, who lives next to the ground-plus-one structure where the blast took place. 'Something went horribly wrong and there was a loud explosion. My children play outside but, thankfully, they were inside when the accident happened as it was raining.'
The explosion took place at 6.15pm, and it took fire personnel 25 min to extinguish the blaze. 'Investigations are ongoing,' said the fire officer in charge of the operation.
The deceased is Noor Alam, 38, who was declared dead on arrival at Sion Hospital. Pravin Pujari, 34, the other technician, was admitted to the hospital. He is in critical condition, having sustained 30% burns.
The others who were injured, likely those who worked in the food outlet as well as passersby on the busy street, are: Mukesh Gupta, 34, Shivmohan, 24, Deepali Godatkar, 24, Sana Shaikh, 25, Shridevi Bandichhode, 31, and Kamlesh Jaiswal, 22. They sustained minor injuries.
The storey above the food outlet houses a residential home but the occupants were away when the explosion took place. Their home, however, was damaged in the blast. 'Luckily, both of us were out,' said Sahil Kapadia, who lives in the house above with his mother Sheena Lala. 'Only our African Grey Parrot was home. He's fine but he has plucked out all his feathers in fear.'
Sheena Lala added, 'Our windows have cracked, parts of the ceiling are damaged, and portions of the floor have cracked. The damage is worst where the blast took place. We have to figure out where to spend the night.'
Kapadia added, 'The cloud kitchen was an outlet of a popular chain of eateries. It has been operating here for 8 to 10 years.' The fire officer on duty did not confirm these details but said they had found freezers of the food outlet on the ground floor.