Three persons were killed in a fire that broke out on Wednesday morning at around nine in the basement of Bombay House, headquarters of the Tata Group.

An air-conditioned auditorium and canteen, besides power supply equipment are located at the basement of the heritage building dating back to 1924.

Firemen said tackling the blaze was difficult with no exit points for the smoke. Exhaust pumps had to be employed to suck out the fumes.

Ten fire engines and four tankers were pressed into service. The dead were said to be canteen employees at Bombay House who had perished due to suffocation.

A senior fire officer said though the flames were doused in half an hour, it took over two hours to clear the smoke trapped in the basement. Asked whether the in-house fire extinguishing mechanism had done its job, he preferred to smile.

At once the accident raised questions on the prudence of having canteens in basements. But Mr Anand Gupta of the Builders Association of India said that canteen as well as air-conditioning in the basement was legal provided the mechanical ventilation was proper.

A Tata Sons spokesperson said the fire had been brought under control and the building evacuated. The authorities are investigating the cause of the incident and the Tata group is fully cooperating with the investigations.

There were three casualties; Farad Wadia, Eashwar Patel and Shashank Pawar. “The group offers deepest condolences to the bereaved families and relief is being organised,” a Tata Sons spokesman said.

The four-storeyed structure goes back to the colonial times. It was designed by George Wittet, an architect, who went on to head Tata Engineering Company, now Tata Motors.

Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals are among the many group companies whose directors work out of the premises. Group Chairman Mr Ratan Tata has an office on the fourth floor.

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