Hours after a massive fire broke out at Mumbai's MTNL telephone exchange building on Monday, fire brigade personnel had rescued all 84 people stranded on the terrace, an official said.
The rescue operation lasted several hours in the nine-floor building in western suburb Bandra, an official said.
Initial reports suggested that 100 people were feared stranded on the terrace of the building. The fire brigade personnel deployed an aerial ladder to rescue those who were trapped.
Two fire brigade personnel, who were exposed to the smoke billowing out of the building, were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The fire was confined to the third and fourth floors, the official said. The officials were yet to ascertain the reason for the fire.
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"We came down from the fifth floor via a lift. We saw fire brigade personnel bringing out some people from a smoke-filled floor," a woman said.
Another woman, who also managed to come out of the building, said, "When we came to know of the fire, we searched for the staircase, which had become partially invisible due to heavy smoke."
"We had closed the windows and doors of our office. Fire brigade people came and rescued us," she said. There were still six to seven persons on the floor from where she was rescued, she added.
The fire broke out at around 3 pm at the MTNL building, which is, incidentally, located near a fire brigade centre in suburban Bandra.
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As it was a working day, many people, mostly MTNL employees, were present inside the building, the officials said.
Fourteen fire engines and other equipment, including a robot van and an ambulance, were engaged in dousing the fire, PTI reported.
Visuals on TV channels showed smoke billowing from the building.
(With inputs from PTI)
