Dozens killed as blaze engulfs Delhi building
NEW DELHI: At least 27 people were killed when a fire engulfed a three-storey commercial building in West Delhi’s Mundka area on Friday, officials at the site said, adding that they feared more may have died since they were yet to reach all parts of the building and several of the injured were in a critical condition.
The fire started around 4.40pm in a building close to the Mundka metro station, before it appeared to have swallowed the entire structure with approximately 70 people inside. By 11pm, deputy commissioner of police Sameer Garg said 26 bodies had been recovered and close to a dozen were pulled out alive, with health minister Satyendar Jain pegging the number at 27 half an hour later.
“It is difficult to identify even the gender of those who died. The bodies are completely charred. The condition of the injured are critical. The death count will increase,” said a police officer at the Sanjay Gandhi hospital, one of the facilities where the injured were taken.
According to a preliminary assessment, the fire started on the first floor, where 50 people worked and most were rescued, and spread upwards. It was not clear how many were unaccounted for.
A Delhi Police spokesperson announced the arrest of Harish Goel and Varun Goel, the owners of the business that functioned out of the first floor.
Most of the deaths confirmed till the time of going to print took place on the second floor and several of the injured were those who jumped off the building, an official at the site said. Another police staffer said they broke windows to reach some of the survivors.
Till the time of going to print, firefighters were yet to fully put out the blaze, more than seven hours after they first responded.
The Mundka blaze is the deadliest since the 2019 factory fire at Anaj Mandi when 43 people were killed. The 27 confirmed fatalities make Friday’s incident the second-deadliest since the 1999 Lal Kuan chemi
cal market fire when 57 people were killed.
Family member of those who worked at the building gathered at the hospitals where the injured were taken to, with several unable to trace their kin. Suraj Tiwari, the brother of 21-year-old Monika Tiwari, said he was unable to find his sister and was not yet allowed to see the bodies. “The company used to ask employees to submit their phones in the morning, return them during lunch and then finally return when they would leave,” he said, adding that he set out to look for her when she did not return by 7pm.
Another man, who identified himself only as Sukhbir, was at the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital looking for his 19-year-old son. “I have been to Ambedkar Hospital, Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital and have now come here. But policemen here have told us to come in the morning when all bodies come. I hope my son is not one of them,” he said.
The building till recently housed a vehicle showroom and currently served as an office for multiple firms spread over difMinister ferent floors. The deputy commissioner of police said the first floor office was that of a company making CCTV cameras and Wi-Fi routers. All of the injured people were rushed to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital and the Baba Saheb Hospital. “More bodies are coming in. People are coming with severe burn injuries. The death count is likely to increase. They have been admitted to critical care unit,” said a doctor at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, adding that all hospital staff had been called in to deal with the number of cases.
Officials were yet to comment on what sparked the fire, and whether there were any fire safety violations. In all three major fire incidents in the last five years, the owners and those that maintained the facilities were found to have violated rules that civic agencies should have enforced. Sharma said an investigation has been opened.
“Shocked and pained to know about this tragic incident. I am constantly in touch with officers. Our brave firemen are trying their best to control the fire and save lives. God bless all,” chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who too condoled the deaths, said ₹2 lakh will be paid to the families of those killed and ₹50,000 to people who were injured.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too tweeted their condolences. “Distressed by the tragic fire accident at a building near Mundka Metro Station in Delhi. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish for speedy recovery of the injured,” the President wrote.
“Pained by the loss of lives in a tragic fire incident in Mundka, New Delhi. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Naidu tweeted.
“Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Delhi. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” the PM wrote. “Pained by the tragic loss of lives in the Delhi fire near Mundka Metro station. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wishing the injured a speedy recovery,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet.