Survivors of Mumbai fire recount their horror stories

Unable to find an escape route, Khushbu and her friends ran into the men’s toilet and locked themselves in. On feeling suffocated, they decided to brave the flames and run downstairs. Unfortunately, they could not make it.

Among the deceased were Kinal Shah, Neha Waghela and Yasha Thakkar, who were all present at Khushbu's birthday party.

Dr Sulbha KG Arora, a Mumbai doctor, recalls being pushed and trampled on as she tried to escape the burning building.

"There was a stampede and someone pushed me. People were running over me even as the ceiling above me was collapsing in flames. Still don't know how I got out alive," she said in a tweet."

Around 15 employees of a local Marathi channel were among the lucky ones who managed to escape the building that was gutted in no time. The prgramme producer of the channel, has the presence of mind to alert his employees- all of whom then evcauted the building through th fire exit.

He and his colleagues also saw the temporary roof made of bamboo burning and falling down to the ground floor.

"Had we been late by 5-10 minutes, we would have been trapped inside. It was a narrow escape for us," Jadhav told PTI.