43 killed in Delhi factory fire
Blaze occurred while labourers, workers were sleeping, says fire official
NEW DELHI: At least 43 people have died in a factory fire in India’s capital New Delhi, with the toll expected to rise, police said.
The blaze broke out in the early hours in the city’s old quarter, whose narrow and congested lanes are lined with many small manufacturing and storage units.
“We have since rescued at least 50 people,“Sunil Choudhary, New Delhi’s deputy chief fire officer said.
They were “labourers and factory workers sleeping inside this four-or-five storey building“, he said, adding that the fire had been extinguished but rescue operations were ongoing.
Fire officials said it was very difficult to access the dark, poorly lit premises in the commercial hub of Sadar Bazar.
The building was filled with school bags and packing material, fire officials said.
However, they have not ascertained the cause of the blaze.
Delhi’s north district deputy police commissioner Monika Bhardwaj said the death toll had jumped to “43, with 16 others admitted at local hospitals”.
“Fire department has completed the rescue work. There are no more bodies at the site.”
The fire was aggravated due to the plastic packing pouches, bags and other such material at the premises, Bhardwaj added.
“Most of those who died were sleeping when the fire broke out and died due to asphyxiation,” Sadar Bazar’s assistant commissioner of police said.
Many factories and small manufacturing units in big Indian cities are often located in old, cramped quarters of the cities, where the cost of land is relatively cheaper.
Such units often also serve as sleeping quarters for poor, mostly migrant labourers and workers.
Lack of planning and lax enforcement of building and safety regulations often lead to deadly accidents.
“The fire in Delhi’s Anaj Mandi on Rani Jhansi Road is extremely horrific.
“My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on Twitter. “Wishing the injured a quick recovery. Authorities are providing all possible assistance at the site of the tragedy,“he added.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal described the incident as “very very tragic news.”
“Rescue operations going on. Firemen doing their best. Injured are being taken to hospitals, Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.
The Delhi state government will conduct a probe and action will be taken against those responsible for the fire, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain said.