A fire broke out on the third floor of Churchill Chambers, a building behind the Taj Mahal Hotel in Colaba around 12.15 pm on Sunday, killing one person and injuring two. A resident, Shyam Aiyyar, 54, died while another, Yusuf Punawala, 43, who inhaled smoke, was admitted to the Bombay Hospital. A fireman, Bhurmal Santosh Patil from Mandvi Fire Station, who also inhaled smoke, was given First Aid. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Thick smoke filled the stairs of the building that is almost a century old, trapping residents in their third floor flats. Some were also trapped in the passage on the third floor from where they were rescued. In all 15 residents were rescued.