The programme was later called off. “Just then fire on stage broke!”, Bachchan, 73, tweeted. In the mean time, speaking to reporters after the fire was brought under control the previous evening, Chief Minister Devedra Fadnavis said, said all people were securely cleared from the spot and no causality was reported for in the incident. However, the officials were unable to find out the exact causes for it, but Maharashtra state, BJP spokesman, Atul Shah said the fire apparently broke out from beneath the stage.
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As the program progressed, it is learnt that a major fire broke at the venue.
According to initial reports, several VIPs were present at the event.
The blaze broke out when a lavani (dance) performance was underway.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the ambitious Make in India Week in the city exhorting global business giants to set bases in the country.
Despite the massive fire, all the programmes of the Make In India event are to continue as per schedule in the coming days and the CM has assured a comprehensive inquiry about the unfortunate incident.
Around seven-eight thousand people were present at the venue which also included some foreign guests.
Amitabh Bachchan recounted the event on Twitter: “What happened at event?” The music was stopped soon after the fire was noticed and the crowd began screaming to alert them to run towards the back. The music was immediately put off, and people were evacuated smoothly within a few minutes.
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Event organiser Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd has said in a statement that prior to the event all safety checks and audits were done. It is also learnt that 16 fire brigades arrived at the venue to get the fire under control. “And it’s so windy the fire spread at an alarming speed”, said actor Amir Khan. “But the music was loud and the stage was about 300-400ft away from the front row where I was sitting”, said Vijay Shivtare, Sena MLA and minister of state for water conservation in Maharashtra. The police and fire department did a wonderful job. Thankfully, there were no injuries. When big, public events are organised, it is not unusual to find dangerously low-hanging electricity cables or just a single fire engine and an ambulance on stand-by.
