Nine dead as fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi

Nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar in the early hours of Sunday.

The first was call was received around 3.48 am following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.

Officials say that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

When the rescue teams reached the site, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said nine charred bodies were recovered from different floors.

Those found dead on the second floor have been identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain.

"One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked," the DFS officer said.

On the third floor, three members of a family were found dead. They were identified as Nitin Jain (50), wife Shailey Jain (48) and son Samyak Jain (25).

On the first floor a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.

A senior police officer said, "Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital."

A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.

Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours. Efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.

Further investigation and proceedings are underway.

(with PTI inputs)