A massive fire broke out at a building in Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel area recently and celebrations have come to a slight halt as Mumbai mourns the tragic incident. According to reports, approximately 15 people have been killed and several others have been injured in the massive fire and among the dead are brothers Dhairya and Vishwa Lalani who had recently returned from the US. Vishwa was a US citizen.
Two Matunga brothers rescued 12 people from the burning building but they couldn’t save themselves. Dhairya, Vishwa, Pramila were out for dinner with seven others, including aunt Bharati Doshi, another aunt who was visiting from the US. “Since the boys lived with me in the US for several years, they wanted me to meet their friends here. So we decided to go out for dinner,” said Doshi who survived the blaze. “There was no time to think. The fire spread fast and soon everyone was screaming and trying to run out. Dhairya and Vishwa too managed to come out but realized that their aunt, Pramila, wasn’t with us. They went back in to look for her,” she continued, recalling the incident.
Dhairya, a software engineer, was in India on a two-month break before he was to start a new job next month in the US. “He was visiting after almost three years. The boys helped rescue around 12 people who were said to be trapped inside but couldn’t save themselves,” said Viral Chedda, a cousin. Dhairya was to return to the US on the 17th of January. Vishwa had recently returned from the US and joined his father’s catering business.
On hearing about the fire, the parents of the boys reached Kamala Mills. “Soon, they saw Pramila and Vishwa’s bodies being brought out. When they reached KEM Hospital, they found that Dhairya had already been brought dead there,” said Nisha Lalani, a relative. Pramila, the oldest victim to have died in the fire, is the paternal aunt of the boys. She survived by her husband, a son and a daughter and their spouses. “We are in a state of shock but have to accept what has happened. The children are out of town and we are waiting for them to return,” said her husband Laxmichand Kenia. Remembering her sister, Doshi said, “My sister (Pramila) never went out to such places for dinner but we all insisted that she accompany us. We are extremely shaken.” The funeral will be held on Saturday morning.
This news saddens us so very deeply…
