Thirteen people, who were stuck in an elevator at a multi-chained supermarket Dmart in Bhayandar, were rescued by Fire Brigade officials on Sunday evening after two and half hours rescued operation.
According to the information provided by Fire Brigade officials of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC), the incident took place in Dmart, near Maxus mall, in Bhayandar West. Store Manager Shree Viraj informed the officials at around 7:40 pm. A team of fire brigade personnel under the supervision of its head Prakash Borade immediately rushed to the spot.
The elevator was stuck between the ground and first floors of the supermarket at around 7.30 pm on Sunday. At the time of the incident, 13 people were inside the lift. Among those trapped in the elevator were children aged 1.6 years and 11 years. “There was an uproar as 13 people got stuck in the elevator. The staff tried but the elevator did not start. Finally, the fire brigade was called around 7:40 p.m. Bhayander’s fire brigade rushed to the spot, immediately,” said Prakash Borade, Chief Fire Officer, MBMC.
Fire Brigade covered the 500 meters area in 10 minutes. “This happened, due to heavy traffic in the area because of the weekend, fire brigade reached the spot at 7:55 pm, about seven minutes late,” said the fire brigade report.
After the preliminary inspection, Fire Brigade decided to cut the roof of the elevator. However, the management was in favour to start the lift. “Therefore, the firefighter arranged the ventilation to the trapped customers. Nevertheless, Dmart management failed to start the elevator. Finally, the fire brigade personnel cut the roof of the lift with the help of gas cutter and the trapped the visitors,” said Borade.
Rescued operation successful
After a marathon struggle of nearly two and a half hours, at around 10 pm, Fire Brigade personnel rescued them successfully.
The lift probably malfunctioned due to the heavy rush of people. On weekends, the supermarket is more crowded as compared to weekdays.
Fire Brigade personnel rescued Varsha More (29), Ramesh More (32), Darsh More (1.6 years), Ruchi Yadav (16), Anju Yadav (36), Bhavna Yadav (46), Shraddha Raut (55), Shreyas Raut (26), Mayuri Rane (28), Dhawal Kiri (40), Hetal Kiri (38), Hed Kiri (11) and Vivian Kiri (3).
The successful rescued operation happened due to the timely action by Sadanand Patil, Sub Station officer, Bhayandar; Sanjay More, Leading Fireman; Samadhan Mali, Driver; Raju Pawar, Jay Kumar Patil, Firemen and others.
