Thane, Maharashtra: More than 1,000 wedding guests had a narrow escape after a fire broke out at a banquet hall in Thane, Maharashtra, late Thursday night,
officials said on Friday. The blaze erupted at around 11 pm at a marriage hall located in the Ovala area along Ghodbunder Road, where a wedding reception was underway at the time. According to Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation, the fire started when mandap decoration materials kept outside a cabin on the lawn of ‘The Blue Roof Club’ caught fire, triggering panic at the venue. The official said that 1,000 to 1,200 guests had gathered at the venue at the time of the incident.
#WATCH | Thane, Maharashtra | A massive fire broke out at the Blue Roof Club in the Ghodbunder Road area of Thane, on Thursday night at 10:30 PM due to fireworks. It was brought under control after a lot of efforts. No casualties reported.
Visuals Source: Thane Municipal… pic.twitter.com/b1taFUfm57— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2025
“As soon as the fire was noticed, guests were safely moved out of the venue, preventing any casualties,” he said. Fire officials said timely alertness and swift evacuation played a key role in "averting a major tragedy".
The firefighting operation involved two fire engines, one rescue vehicle, and one utility vehicle. An official said the fire was extinguished by around midnight.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he added.
In other news, a bus carrying students from a university in Tamil Nadu caught fire here on Thursday, police said. The students were evacuated in time, averting a major tragedy, they added.
The incident occurred near St. Jude Chowk on the Shimla Bypass road when a private bus carrying about 40 students from Madurai Agricultural University from Haridwar to the Forest Research Institute (FRI) suddenly caught fire, police said.
They said panic ensued in the bus due to the fire. Meanwhile, traffic police personnel and other passersby on the road managed to evacuate all the students before the fire intensified, thus averting a major disaster.
Fire tenders later arrived at the spot and brought the fire under control, they said.
Police said all the students are safe. However, their belongings were destroyed in the fire. According to the police, the fire was possibly caused by a short circuit, but an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause.
