A fire broke out at Mumbai’s Aayakar Bhavan on Monday afternoon, leaving several people stranded on the upper floors. No injuries have been reported so far.

The blaze at the seven-storey building on Maharshi Karve Road in Churchgate was reported at 2:01 pm and declared a Level I fire at 2:10 pm. According to senior Mumbai Fire Brigade officials, it remained confined to the basement, although thick smoke from the building briefly caused panic near Churchgate station.

Firefighting operation at Aayakar Bhavan in Mumbai.

A senior official told that at least 15 people had been rescued from the first three floors using the staircase, while others were moved safely to the terrace. A search operation by two teams is underway to evacuate other stranded people.

The MFB initially deployed three fire engines, three jumbo water tankers and other equipment. “Four high-pressure lines and two small hose lines from eight fire engines are in operation by firemen donning breathing apparatus (BA),” officials said.