A fire broke out in the basement of Aayakar Bhavan, the Income Tax office located on Maharshi Karve Road in Mumbai, on Monday afternoon, with firefighting operations underway and no injuries reported so far.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade received the initial call at 2:01 p.m. and officially declared it a Level-I fire at 2:10 p.m.
The blaze, confined to the basement of the basement-plus-ground-plus-seven-storey structure, sent smoke through the upper floors, prompting an evacuation of people stranded there.
Multiple agencies, including the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, BEST personnel, 108 ambulance services and BMC ward staff, were immediately mobilised to the site.
Fire brigade personnel entered the building wearing oxygen cylinders as thick smoke engulfed the structure, carrying out a large-scale rescue operation, NDTV reported.
Specialised equipment, including a turntable ladder and an aerial ladder platform, was deployed on site to assist with aerial evacuation from the upper floors.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Nilesh Bagul said all 1,800 employees working in the building were safely evacuated, with no casualties reported.
"No casualties reported, all 1,800 employees have been safely evacuated," Bagul said.
Officials said at least four fire engines and several other firefighting vehicles were deployed as efforts continued to bring the blaze under control. Around 20 fire tenders were engaged in firefighting operations at the site.
The blaze spread extensively inside the building, sending heavy smoke billowing out on all sides.
While no injuries have been reported so far, ambulances were kept on standby as a precautionary measure to handle any emergency.
Officials have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire or the extent of damage caused to the basement area.
Aayakar Bhavan houses several offices of the Income Tax Department and typically sees heavy footfall through the day, given its administrative and public-facing functions.
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