Early Tuesday morning, a major fire broke out inside Link Square Mall in Bandra West, sending thick black smoke through the entire structure. The fire started in the basement, inside the Croma electronics store, and quickly spread across three underground levels of the mall.
It was around 4:11 am when the first signs of trouble began. Within minutes, it had turned serious enough for the Mumbai Fire Brigade to issue a Level-IV alert, which is among the highest emergency categories. Crews rushed in with 12 motor pumps and hose lines to try and contain the situation.
The fire caused severe damage. A total of 198 shops and the Croma showroom were completely destroyed. Restaurants and other outlets inside the complex have also been reduced to ashes. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported yet, though fire-fighting efforts continued for several hours.
Smoke-filled basements made rescue work tough
The Croma outlet where the fire started was spread out across three levels below the ground. That made things worse. The heavy smoke got trapped inside, making it difficult for the fire crews to reach the core of the flames.
One of the officials from the fire department said the entire structure, which has three basements and three floors above ground, was choked with smoke. That’s what made the operation so challenging. Even after hours of work, teams were still trying to cool down the spot.
A video of the fire incident was also shared by Richa Pinto on her X account, showing dense smoke rising from the building while firefighters battled the flames below. At the moment, the cause of the fire has not been confirmed. A detailed probe will begin once the site is safe.
Just days after another major fire in Mumbai
This incident has brought back concerns about fire safety in commercial buildings, especially since it happened just days after another serious blaze. That one was at the Kaiser-i-Hind building in Ballard Estate, which houses the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office and several government departments.
That fire started around 2:30 in the morning, was first marked as Level-I, but had to be upgraded to Level-III. It took almost nine hours to control it. While no lives were lost, there is fear that important files and documents may have been destroyed in that incident.
As Mumbai wakes up to two major fires within days, questions are being asked about fire preparedness in both public and private complexes.
