At least seven people, including two children, were killed and more than 50 injured after a fire tore through a seven-storey residential building in Mumbai, India, on Friday.
The blaze started around 3am at the Jay Bhavani building in the Goregaon area, authorities said.
Firefighters used eight fire engines and water tankers, among other equipment, to put out the inferno.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the city’s municipal authority, said the fire started in one of the shops on the ground floor that had scrap materials, close to where several vehicles were parked.
They battled the blaze for more than three hours, extinguishing it at about 6.45am.
Fifteen of the injured were admitted at Cooper Hospital, with the condition of two critical, while others were taken to Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College Hospital.
While authorities are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the fire, residents said that it was caused by a short-circuit before rapidly spreading and trapping many of the building's residents.
“Our family members and relatives were there. My aunt has died. A short circuit occurred at around 1.30am and then the fire spread … The fire spread to the seventh floor,” one of the survivors told local media.
“From our family, one dead body is with them [authorities]; they said they will hand it over in an hour.”
Chief fire officer Ravindra Ambulgekar said that the building was built in 2006 under the slum rehabilitation programme and had no fire safety system. The lift was old and smoke travelled through the lift duct.
Images on social media showed people desperately trying to douse the fire that had destroyed motorbikes and cars.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis consoled the survivors and promised that government would provide assistance.
Fires are common in India due to poor building practices, overcrowding and a lack of adherence to safety regulations.
About 10,000 people were killed in fires across the country in 2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, making them one of the biggest public safety hazards in the country.
At least 14 people, including several women and three children, were killed after a blaze broke out at an apartment complex in India’s eastern Jharkhand state where they had gathered for a wedding in February this year.
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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
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Engine: Duel electric motors
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1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
