At least 43 people were killed when a massive fire ripped through a four-storey building housing illegal manufacturing units in north Delhi's congested Anaj Mandi area on Sunday morning, in the second deadliest fire incident in the national capital.
Almost all the deceased were migrant labourers hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Police and fire department officials said many of the fatalities occurred due to suffocation as the people were sleeping when the fire started at around 5 am on the second floor of the building that did not have fire safety clearance and was packed with combustible material like card boards.
It took over 150 firefighters nearly five hours to douse the blaze. As many as 63 people from pulled out from building. While 43, including one minor, died, 16 were injured. Two fire department personnel were hurt while carrying out rescue work, officials said.
Those awakened by the fire, suspected by officials to have been triggered by a short-circuit, had to struggle to escape as the exit routes were partially blocked and several windows were found sealed.
Police have arrested the property owner Rehan and his manager Furkan and a case has been registered under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire) of the IPC. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch.
The Delhi government ordered a magisterial probe into the tragedy, the worst fire accident in the national capital since the 1997 Uphaar Cinema blaze that claimed 59 lives. It has sought a report within seven days.
Also Read
More recently, a fire at hotel Arpit Palace on Karol Bagh left 17 dead in February this year.
Officials said 30 fire tenders were rushed after the blaze was first reported at 5.22 am in the Anaj Mandi building which housed manufacturing units for glass items, card boards, handbags and other goods.
The building was packed with combustible material like card boards, plastic wrappings, garments, rexine, plastic toys, packaging materials, aggravating the fire and resulting in dense smoke which suffocated the people trapped inside.
he injured included two minors. However, it was not confirmed whether the injured worked in the units.
The narrow lanes of Anaj Mandi area made rescue operations difficult for firefighters, who had to cut window-grills to get access to the building. Some injured were carried to the hospital in auto rickshaws.
A preliminary probe suggested that a short-circuit triggered the blaze. Power discom BYPL said the fire began due to "internal system" trouble.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the "extremely horrific" incident and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was "very, very tragic".
Modi and Kejriwal also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh respectively for the next of kin of each of those killed. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each will be given to the families of the deceased.
Kejriwal also announced Rs 1 lakh for the injured and said his government will bear the cost of their treatment.
The Prime Minister approved Rs 50,000 each for those seriously injured. The amount will be paid from the Prime Minister National Relief Fund, the PMO said in a tweet.
North Delhi Mayor Avtar Singh said he has asked the municipal commissioner to form a team which will visit the site and probe the exact cause of the fire.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the site, clogged with bystanders and politicians arriving in convoys. Firemen made their way through narrow lanes to rescue those trapped inside the blackened building and carried many unconscious labourers on their backs.
As the building lacked proper ventilation, most of the people died due to asphyxia.
Aditya Pratap Singh, deputy commander, NDRF said they detected carbon monoxide (CO) in the building. "The entire third and fourth floor was engulfed with smoke. The content of CO was more," he said.
He said when the team started the operation, it found some windows sealed.
The dead and injured were taken to LNJP, Lady Hardinge and RML hospitals, where distraught relatives had a hard time finding their family members.
An elderly man whose three nephews worked at the building said, "At least 12-15 machines were installed in the unit. I have no idea about the factory owner. My nephews Mohammed Imran and Ikramuddin were inside the factory. I don't know their whereabouts."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content