Navi Mumbai: Massive blaze erupts on Khargar hills, locals get panic

On late Wednesday evening, a massive fire erupted in Navi Mumbai's Kharghar hills. The fire spread to a large area. The firefighters had to climb the hill as their engines could not reach to the top of the hill. 

Pravin Bodhake, Kharghar fire officer said "The fire broke atop the Kharghar hills in the Sector 6 area at around 8pm on Wednesday. Due to dry grass over a large area, the fire gradually spread to the foothills near the residential area, creating panic among the residents. Fortunately, there was no overhead high-tension line in the area. But, as a precautionary measure, MSEDCL officials were told to switch off the power supply in residential areas."

He further said, "We were unable to extinguish the blaze at the foothills by using fire tenders, which cannot reach atop the hill as three is no access road. Thereafter, the firefighters climbed up the hill and used fire beater tools and gunny bags to extinguish the fire. The fire fighting operation continued for six hours till the situation was brought under control around 2am on Thursday."

"It is possible that during the pre-Holi celebration a bonfire was lit and thereafter the fire spread as the bonfire was not doused. The local police need to probe it," he added