Fire breaks out at Park Hotel's basement in Delhi

A fire broke out at the basement of The Park hotel in Lutyens' Delhi on Sunday morning, following which three people, including two Norwegian nationals, were admitted to a hospital, police said.

The incident took place around 9 am, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said.

However, the fire department said they were informed about the incident by police around 12.25 pm, following which five fire-tenders were rushed to the spot.

The fire was brought under control by the hotel staff with the help of fire extinguishers before the fire tenders reached, a senior fire official said.

Even though the blaze was brought under control, smoke had engulfed the building, he said, adding that none of the people staying at the hotel suffered any serious injuries.

Both the police and the fire department were not informed about the incident by the hotel management, police said.

"Police were informed about the incident by the hospital (Ganga Ram Hospital) around 11:45 am from the Rajinder Nagar police station," Yadav said.

The Park hotel issued a statement saying they are "deeply concerned about the incident that took place at the basement of the hotel this morning" and that "safety has always been our top priority".

Twelve people, including 11 foreign nationals staying at the hotel, were taken to a hospital, where nine of them were given first aid, a senior police official said.

Norwegian nationals Abdi Bhasir and Joshim Kvan were admitted to the hospital after they suffered breathing difficulties, police said, adding Kundan Rai, 30, who suffered minor injuries during the incident, was also admitted there.

However, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in a statement said, "Two persons from Norway have been admitted for breathing difficulty due to suspected inhalation injury."

According to S Katoch, Additional Director Medical, at the facility, "Today morning around 11 am, nine patients were brought to the casualty department after a fire incident at The Park hotel here."

Seven patients were discharged after administering first aid, he said.

Later, a team of the fire department was sent to inspect the spot and look into the matter.

Police said the fire started from the hotel basement due to a short circuit when a generator was being tested.

A case under section 285 (Negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 337 (causing hurt by act of endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Connaught Place police station, police said.

The Park hotel, in its statement, said," There was a short circuit that lead to a minor fire, however, the situation was quickly normalised by our in-house Crisis Management team. Some of our guests were exposed to the smoke of the fire and as a precautionary measure were sent for a thorough check up to the hospital."

"Safety has always been our top priority and we assure that all our guests and employees are safe. An investigation has been launched to get to the bottom of the incident to ensure we can take measures to avoid a similar situation in future", it added.