‘No safety gear, fire alarm, escape route’

NEWDELHI: There was no firefighting equipment, panic alarm, accessible emergency exit, or other safety measures at the old Delhi building gutted in a devastating inferno that killed 43 workers of an illegal factory, the Delhi Police’s FIR said on Monday, even as the victims’ families tried to come to terms with the worst such tragedy in two decades.

The blaze broke out at the fivestorey building in Anaj Mandi early on Sunday, killing many of the 70 workers who slept on the floor at night. The police said they were still looking for clues to ascertain the cause of the fire.

“An inspection found that in such a big building, there was no panic alarm and no safety measures, and for an emergency, there was no exit route,” said a statement by head constable Akbar Abbas, who is the complainant in the case. An exit leading to the rear of the building was found to be locked from the outside and its staircase completely blocked with goods.

The FIR noted that the ground floor had large quantities of cardboard sheets and the first floor was filled with mirror frames

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MONU: among other things. “On the second floor, mirror frames and cardboard sheets were fully gutted. On the third floor, sewing machines and rolls of burnt cloth were found. The fourth floor contained

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MONU: sewing machines and materials used for making bags,” Abbas’s statement said.

Sunil Kumar, a fireman who was among the first responders,

[His voice panicking] Where?

Listen to me, don’t

Yes, yes [Gasps for air]

Musa? Musa? [No sound]

Musa... Musa?

AFP Police officials near the factory where the fire broke out in Anaj Mandi, on Monday.

AMAL KS/HT PHOTO A relative of an Anaj Mandi victim in tears outside the mortuary at LNJP Hospital in New Delhi on Monday.