Huge fire at Indian state government building

A huge fire broke out at the state government headquarters in Mumbai on Thursday, injuring several people and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of officials as it engulfed the building's upper floors. Fire engines and emergency teams rushed to the scene in the city's southern business district and at least 11 people were hurt, one of them seriously, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said, quoting a hospital official.
Television footage showed people being taken out of the building on stretchers. Earlier pictures had shown several people on balconies, desperate to be saved by rescue workers using ladders as smoke billowed across the city. Sixty-five people trapped on the fifth and sixth floors were evacuated by fire-fighters, Relief and Rehabilitation Secretary Pravin Pardeshi said. Navy helicopters also joined the rescue operation after the blaze broke out in the afternoon and raged for several hours, with flames fanned by the sea breeze.