16-year-old boy dies as firecracker explosion causes fire in a shop in Mumbai

A 16-year-old boy died after a firecracker explosion triggered a fire inside a shop at Gate No. 8 of Malvani, Malad (West), in Mumbai on Monday night. The fire broke out at around 9.56 pm at a shop near Gate No. 8 in Malvani.

Firecrackers and electrical wiring and installations stored inside the approximately 20-ft x 30-ft shop caught fire. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times/ Representative)The incident came amid a spate of fires across Mumbai during Diwali, with the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) receiving more than 200 firecracker-related fire calls between November 6 and 9.

The fire broke out at around 9.56 pm at a shop near Gate No. 8 in Malvani. Firecrackers and electrical wiring and installations stored inside the approximately 20-ft x 30-ft shop caught fire. The explosion from firecrackers subsequently caused the shop’s slab to collapse.

The fire was extinguished by 10.36 pm, around 40 minutes after it was reported. The boy, who was in the shop and was initially reported missing, was later found dead inside, with his body severely charred. The victim was rushed to BMC’s Shatabdi Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

According to information received from the chief medical officer of Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital in Kandivali, the deceased had suffered 100% burns. At least 28 people, including two women, were treated for burn injuries at three major Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hospitals following Diwali celebrations, with flowerpot crackers emerging as a major cause of firecracker-related accidents, doctors said.

Cooper Hospital reported the highest number of cases at 16, followed by Nair Hospital with nine and Sion Hospital with three. Osama Rawal is a trainee correspondent at HT Mumbai. He covers Asia’s largest civic body , the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), he reports on the decisions taken by the administration and statutory bodies,how these decisions shape the city, and their impact on the lives of ordinary mumbaikars.

He is particularly interested in how citizens’ movements influence and redefine urban governance in the maximum city. He firmly believes that the only way to report the BMC is through the lens of people,rather than the other way around.

He also covers environment ,but his reporting extends to virtually every major development in the city, from monsoon to worsening air quality to chasing human interest stories in everything that happens in the city. His reporting combines extensive field work with data,aiming to produce stories that are both deeply reported and evidence backed.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Elphinstone College and is pursuing an LLB from the University of Mumbai. when he is not reporting you can find him buried in obscure religious and political texts,and finding evidence as a critical thinker and non conformist to back his what he considers ‘highly nuanced’ arguments.Read More