A bolt of lightning struck the Sai Proviso Uttara high-rise at Sector-50 in Seawoods, Navi Mumbai, on Thursday evening, causing a gas pipeline to burst into flames. While the residents managed to extinguish the fire immediately, their televisions and CCTV cameras were damaged in the incident. The bolt struck the seventh-floor flat of Yajur Bawa, who was celebrating his birthday. After spotting the fire, Bawa and his family quickly doused it using a fire extinguisher. The gas supply was stopped until Saturday as a safety measure.

Bawa told mid-day, “I was cutting the cake with my family and best friend around 5.57 pm when we saw a bright light followed by a loud sound, which scared us. I went inside the kitchen to get water but it was scorching hot. When we looked outside the window, we saw that there was a fire. We extinguished it immediately. We also called the Mahanagar Gas Limited helpline number and an official rushed and disconnected the gas supply.”