Two persons died and 17 were injured after a massive fire broke out inside a 20-storeyed residential building in Mumbai this morning.

The fire started at around 7 am on the 18th floor of Kamla building opposite Gandhi Hospital at Gowalia Tank in Mumbai's Tardeo area.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar told news agency ANI that six elderly people needed oxygen support and were been shifted to the hospital. The fire "is under control but smoke is huge. All people have been rescued," she added.

On being alerted, the fire brigade personnel and police had rushed to the spot.

A civic body official said 13 fire engines and seven water jetties, among others, are involved in the firefighting operation, adding that it was tagged as a level-3 (major) fire.

Officials said 15 of the injured were taken to the nearby Bhatia Hospital after which 12 of them were admitted to the general ward as their condition was stable while three were admitted to the ICU due to their critical condition.

Four others were rushed to the Nair Hospital out of which two of them were declared brought dead, a doctor said.

It's an unfortunate incident, Maharashtra BJP president and MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha said.