Huge fire engulfs venue at ‘Make in India’ event

A massive fire engulfed the stage at the Maharashtra night event, held on the sidelines of the Make in India investment summit.

The video footage revealed that the fire broke out under the stage on which artists were performing folk dance. The music was stopped immediately and in minutes everyone was evacuated.

Thousands of spectators, among them dignitaries including the chief minister of the host state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, were evacuated safely.

A-list Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Hema Malini, Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapoor were present at the event, which has been abruptly terminated.

Bollywood actors who were present at the spot gave firsthand accounts of the incident. “No casualties reported, no one is injured”.

The Chief Minister said a fire safety audit was conducted prior to the programme and all standard operating procedures were followed.

The fire was brought under control after around an hour. “Hats off to the Mumbai Police, fire department and organisers that there was no injury”, Vivek Oberoi said. “The situation is under control but the stage was completely gutted”, sources said. “Luckily, the fire exits were clearly defined”, said Poonam Mahajan was quoted saying.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Make in India Week on Saturday as a showcase event for the government’s flagship manufacturing scheme. As soon as the recital got over, I left the venue and another event started and suddenly the fire broke out.