Galaxy Hotel, where fire killed three persons, had no fire NOC

Galaxy Hotel in Mumbai, where three people died in a fire, did not have the required fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire brigade. The fire was caused by sparking and a short circuit in an air-conditioner. The victims were airline passengers on their way to Nairobi. The family of the victims plans to take legal action against Indigo Airlines and the hotel. Indigo Airlines declined to comment on the incident.

STRAP: Fire due to heavy sparking and short circuit in AC of Room 204

HT Image

Mumbai: Galaxy Hotel in Santacruz East, where three people died after a Level 1 fire broke out on August 27, did not have the requisite fire No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Mumbai fire brigade.

“The hotel building was constructed in 1966 when there was no concept of a fire NOC,” said Surendra Sawant, assistant divisional fire officer. “They have not approached the fire department for an NOC in the past. We will act as per the instructions of the chief fire officer.” Sawant said that the fire department had shut down the building, and the hotel would have to comply with fire safety norms as per the Maharashtra Fire Prevention Safety Act, 2006.

Officials said the fire was due to heavy sparking and a short circuit in the split air-conditioner in Room 204, which killed Rupal Kanji, 25, Kishan M, 28, and Kantilal Gordhan Vara, 48. The trio were Indigo Airlines passengers on their way to Nairobi, who were put up at the hotel by the airline because their flight was delayed.

On Monday, Nikunj Halai, 25, was waiting for the bodies of his elder brother Kishan and Kishan’s fiancé Rupal to be discharged from Cooper Hospital’s post-mortem centre. Rupal and Kishan, who were due to get married in February, had flown down to their village in Kutch to attend Halai’s wedding on July 28 and do some wedding shopping of their own. Now, instead of celebrations, the family is gearing up to take legal action against Indigo Airlines and Galaxy Hotel.

Halai got a phone call on Sunday evening, and was told to book an emergency flight to Mumbai. He landed at 9 am on Monday with his parents, and was told of the deaths only after landing. A visibly upset Halai said that their sister back in Nairobi was distraught. “She isn’t flying down here,” he said. “She wouldn’t be able to handle it, especially with Raksha Bandhan round the corner.”

Halai also expressed his displeasure with Indigo Airlines. “The passengers reached Mumbai from Ahmedabad at 12 midnight, and were at their flight gate by 2 am,” he said. “They were even given boarding passes but weren’t allowed to get on the flight.”

As a manager at a hotel in Nairobi, Halai took issue with the airlines shifting passengers to a hotel they hadn’t checked, and the hotel for not maintaining its premises properly. “When our hotel gets full, we have to make sure the place we shift our guests to is suitable and safe,” he said. “Hotels are supposed to do regular maintenance and ensure safety precautions but Galaxy Hotel didn’t even have fire alarms.” Halai declared that they would pull all strings to take legal action against the airlines and hotel.

The deceased Kishan worked in a construction company while Rupal was in the telecom sector. Theirs was an arranged marriage, to be held in Nairobi where Rupal’s parents settled over 30 years ago. Kishan’s family itself moved to Nairobi in 2011, although Halai shifted to Uganda in 2019, where he works as a maintenance manager in a hotel.

Kishan and Rupal were with the mother-daughter duo, Manjula Vakhariya, 49, and Alfa Vakhariya, 19, who are Rupal’s family. They were admitted to V N Desai Hospital for anxiety but discharged later on Sunday. The third deceased, Kantilal Gordhan Vara, 48, was not related to them but had reportedly come to Mumbai for cancer treatment.

Indigo Airlines refused to comment on the incident.