Six firemen suffocated to death in a high-rise building's lift in Thane, on Sunday morning. They were on duty, trying to put out a fire.

The fire started due to a short circuit on the 14th floor of a residential building in Samta Nagar. The firemen managed it put it out, but a short circuit caused another fire on the same floor a little later.

This time, the fire fighters used the elevator to get to the floor. But the lift got stuck, and six of them suffocated to death.

The authorities have rubbished the fact that the firefighters were careless. Speaking about the incident, Thane Municipal Commissioner Nand Kumar Jantre said: "The firemen were not careless. They divided themselves into three groups. One of the groups then got a desperate call by some resident  of some spark, so they acted in the line of duty and decided to take the lift. This was not carelessness, but bravery."

The firefighters were later cremated in the afternoon.

Compensation for families:

Maharashtra government has announced a financial assistance of Rs two lakh to the kin of each of the six firemen.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, while announcing the compensation, lauded bravery of the firefighters of the Thane Municipal fire services and their sacrifice in the line of duty.

Deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and NCP state unit president R R Patil also appreciated the work done by fire fighters.