By Promit Mukherjee
MUMBAI, February 15 (Reuters) - A huge fire engulfed the venue of a cultural event in Mumbai on Sunday that was being held at the opening of a "Make in India" week launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to drum up foreign investment.
Television pictures showed fire breaking out at the front of the outdoor stage during a performance by dancers. Fanned by high winds, it quickly spread, licking the sides of a scaffolding rig and lighting up the night sky.
Thousands of spectators, among them dignitaries including the chief minister of the host state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, were evacuated safely.
"Venue was evacuated immediately. Traffic management allowed early dispersal without any trouble," Fadnavis tweeted, adding that no fatalities or injuries were reported.
The fire broke out at 8:24 pm (1554 GMT) due to a short circuit and 14 fire engines and 10 water tankers took just over an hour to bring it under control, said Raviraj Kamde, fire officer at the Maharashtra Fire Control Room.
Kamde confirmed there were no casualties and people at the event had been evacuated safely.
Eyewitnesses said the evacuation was orderly.
"We were shaken with the sudden announcement that there has been a fire at the venue but thankfully there were multiple exit routes," said Heman Goyal, a Delhi businessman who was attending the event.
"There was chaos but we all got out in time. I saw parts of the stage burning."
The blaze is likely to overshadow the message of India being open for business that Modi wanted to send. When he opened the investor jamboree on Saturday, Modi called Make in India "the biggest brand India has ever created".
The prime ministers of Sweden and Finland took part in Saturday's gala opening ahead of Make in India Week, which is being attended by 2,500 foreign companies and 8,000 firms from India.
'Make In India' cultural show fire most unfortunate: Aamir Khan
Mumbai, (IANS) Superstar Aamir Khan, one of the attendees of a cultural extravaganza at the Make In India Week event here, says the fire at the venue was most unfortunate - and is glad the crisis was handled well.
"The fire during the live show at Chowpatty was most unfortunate but the crisis was very well handled by the Mumbai police, fire department and the Maharashtra government. The evacuation was carried out smoothly resulting in no casualties and no panic. The CM stayed till the end to oversee the evacuation. Excellent disaster management," Aamir posted on Facebook.
The fire broke out on Sunday during a performance of Maharashtra's Lavani folk dance at the mega event at Girgaum Chowpatty beach, the BMC Disaster Control said.
The fire was brought under control in about an hour.
At least 14 fire tenders and 10 water tankers were rushed to the site. The stage was completely burnt down and the show was stopped midway.
Apart from Aamir, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Katrina Kaif, Vivek Oberoi and Shreyas Talpade also attended the event. Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his wife Amruta Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi Thackeray were present at the venue too.
The BMC said the fire could have been caused by an electric short circuit.
Fadnavis termed the incident sad and said a comprehensive probe will be ordered and those responsible for it would face action.
