India, Sept. 8 -- An 85-year-old woman was killed while 36 people were rescued after a fire broke out in a 23-storey slum rehabilitation building in Dahisar East on Sunday. The fire was likely sparked by a short circuit around 3pm and doused after nearly three hours with the help of seven fire engines and five water tankers, said fire brigade officials.

Nineteen persons, all inhabitants of the building, were taken to hospitals in the area after they complained of suffocation. Two of them are critical and under observation while the others are stable, officials added.

The affected building comprises one of the five wings of the New Janakalyan Society under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) at Shanti Nagar in Dahisar East. The build...