Kamala Mills fire: The braveheart who saved many lives

Mahesh Pandurang Sable, a security guard employed with Times Now television, showed exemplary courage in rescuing those trapped inside a burning restaurant in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills.

"The people who were trapped had no idea where the exit door was, since it was dark they could not see it, and I dragged them towards it," says Mahesh Sable.

 "I broke open the door there and asked one of my friends to help them.

"There was so much smoke, the visibility was very poor and the people were suffocating.

"Some couldn’t make it out of that thick black smoke but some came out near the exit door; whoever we could take along with us, we brought them out.

"Those trapped inside succumbed.

"There were two restaurants and one of them caught fire. I must have rescued some 200 to 250 people from that place."

Suraj Giri, another security guard with Times Now and Sable's friend, said he too helped rescue many people from the blaze. The casualties would have been higher if they had not broken open the door of a room where cylinders were stored and taken them to a safer place, he added.