New Delhi, Nov 10 : Three people died as a fire broke out at a plastic store in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar of Maharashtra in the early hours of Sunday.

The victims, identified as Nitin Nagare, Gajanan Wagh and Salim Sheikh, lost their lives instantly when they attempted to open the shop around 1 a.m. on Sunday.

The fire was caused due to a short circuit.

This incident is disturbingly reminiscent of another tragic fire earlier this year in April, which also struck Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and claimed seven lives.

That fire broke out in the densely populated Danabazar area of the city's cantonment zone. It was reported that an electric scooter, left plugged in for charging, was the likely cause. The scooter's battery short-circuited, igniting flames that soon spread from the shop to the home directly above it. This was home to a family trapped in the rapidly escalating blaze.

As the flames swept up to the upper floors, thick smoke filled the rooms where family members slept, leading to their deaths by asphyxiation.

Despite the fire brigade's rapid response, the intense smoke and fire trapped seven people who could not be saved in time. Among those who lost their lives were 50-year-old Hamida Begum Aziz, her son Waseem Abdul Sheikh, 30, Waseem's wife Tanveer, 23, Soheil Abdul Aziz, 35, his wife Reshma, and their young children, three-year-old Aseem and two-year-old Pari.

Both tragedies have cast a long shadow over the city. The latest fire calls for strict safety protocols to prevent short circuits, particularly in mixed-use buildings that combine shops with residential areas.

/IANS