At least 43 dead in blaze at factory

INDIA: At least 43 people have died in a fire at a factory in New Delhi, thought to have been caused by an electrical fault.

The workers were trapped inside the building near Sadar Bazaar, the Indian capital’s largest wholesale market for household goods. Relatives had to identify the dead from photos on police officers’ phones.

AT LEAST 43 people have died in a fire at a factory in New Delhi which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

The workers were trapped inside the building near Sadar Bazaar, the Indian capital’s largest wholesale market for household goods. Relatives had to identify the dead from photos on police officers’ phones.

The building’s owner, Rihan, who goes by one name, was detained on suspicion of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Firefighters had to fight the blaze from 100 metres away because it broke out in one of the area’s many alleyways, which is tangled in electrical wire and too narrow for vehicles to access.

Some of the workers’ relatives had received phone calls from the men trapped inside, who begged them to call the fire brigade. Many of the men were migrant workers from the impoverished border state of Bihar in eastern India, relatives said.

They earned as little as 150 rupees (£1.59) per day making handbags, caps and other garments, sleeping at the factory between long shifts. Many of the victims were asleep when the blaze began, police said.

Assistant New Delhi police commissioner Anil Kumar Mittal said “the fire appears to have been caused by electric short circuit”, adding that authorities were investigating whether the factory was operating legally.

Resident Mohammed Naush

ad said he was awoken by people wailing at about 4.30am on Sunday. He went outside to find smoke and flames shooting out of the building and, inside, he found the fourth floor engulfed in flames. One floor below, he saw “20 to 25 people lying on the floor”.

Sixteen people were being treated for burns or smoke inhalation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the fire as “extremely horrific.”

“My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. Wishing the injured a quick recovery,” Mr Modi tweeted.