A tragic fire broke out in a Mumbai-based hotel on Sunday, resulting in the devastating loss of three lives, including a young NRI couple, Kishan Halai and Rupal Vekaria. The couple had plans to get married in Nairobi, where they were settled, but their dreams were shattered by the unfortunate incident.
The fire incident occurred on the third floor of the Galaxy Hotel, a ground-plus-four-storey establishment located in the suburban area of Santacruz. Kishan Halai, aged 28, and his 25-year-old fiancée Rupal Vekaria were among the victims of the fire. They were in Mumbai with their family members due to the rescheduling of their flight to Nairobi.
According to Suresh Kara, the sarpanch (village head) of Rampar village in Gujarat’s Kutch district, Kishan and Rupal had been settled in Nairobi for several years. They were engaged and had plans to get married after reaching Nairobi, where they had been residing with their families. The couple and their families had returned to India about a month ago to attend the wedding of Kishan’s younger brother in their ancestral village.
Kara explained that the newly-married couple, along with Kishan’s parents, had left for Kenya a week before the tragic incident. After their flight was rescheduled, the airline accommodated them in a hotel in Santacruz, where the fire broke out on Sunday.
Tragically, Kishan Halai, Rupal Vekaria, and their families were caught in the fire, resulting in the loss of lives and injuries to other family members. Rupal’s mother, Manjulaben (49), her sister Alpa (19), and another individual named Aslam Sheikh (48) were wounded in the incident, according to officials.
Despite their years of settlement abroad, the families of Kishan and Rupal remained connected to their ancestral roots in Rampar village. Kishan, who had moved to Nairobi with his parents when he was around 13 years old, still had grandparents living in the village. While Kishan had spent his formative years in the village, Rupal was born in Nairobi.
The tragic fire has not only impacted the lives of the young couple and their families but also highlighted the unexpected nature of life’s twists and turns, leaving behind a community in mourning.