Talat Aziz's Juhu home gutted in fire; family safe after rescue

A fire gutted the Juhu duplex apartment of ghazal singer Talat Aziz late Friday night, hospitalising five people for suffocation, including the singer, his wife, and their two sons. All were treated and discharged on Saturday. The blaze, reported at 10.56 pm, spread through electrical wiring, furniture, and an air conditioner on the ground floor of the five-storey building. The Mumbai Fire Brigade controlled the fire by 11.58 pm, though the source remains under investigation. Aziz said an unswitched-on air conditioner sparked the inferno, with his wife Bina rescued by a neighbour via a ladder from an upstairs bathroom window. The family lost cherished belongings, including harmoniums and paintings, but has temporarily relocated to a hotel.