Fire breaks out in Delhi's Anaj Mandi area, 43 dead

Over 50 people were rescued in Delhi after a fire broke out in the wee hours of Sunday, but reports suggest that several are feared dead

Delhi woke up to a tragic Sunday as at least 43 workers were charred or suffocated to death when a fire raged through a four-storeyed building which houses illegal manufacturing units in the national capital in the wee hours.

This incident also brought back the grim memories of the 1997 Uphaar cinema tragedy when 59 people who were watching the movie 'Border' were killed when a blaze ripped through the theatre. Sunday's is the second big fire in the national capital this year, after the February 12 incident in which 17 people, including a child who along with a woman jumped from the window, were killed when a fire broke out in a Delhi budget hotel in Karol Bagh area.

The blaze swept through the building in Anaj Mandi area of north Delhi early in the morning with fire brigade officials getting a call at 5:22 PM following which 30 fire tenders were rushed to the area along with 150 rescue workers. The firefighters pulled out at least 63 people, many of them sleeping, from the building of which 43 were declared dead by doctors.

READ: 'I escaped as I was sleeping near the door': Survivor

At the incident site, fire officials said congested bylanes, curious onlookers and visit by a flurry of politicians had an impact on their work though managed to get the victims out of the smoke-filled building. Two of the firefighters also suffered injuries during the rescue operations.

READ: BJP, AAP exchange barbs over Anaj Mandi fire

Delhi Police arrested building owner Rehan and his manager Furkan after registering a case under Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). Soon after the incident, both could not be located but were arrested later in the day.

The building did not have the mandatory No-Objection Certificate (NOC). "No fire safety equipment was found installed on the premises," Delhi Fire Force Director Atul Garg said.

The victims were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital where relatives tried to locate and identify the labourers. Doctors at these hospitals said some of the bodies were charred beyond recognition while many others died due to "smoke inhalation and suffocation", as there was no proper ventilation in the building.

An inspection by a team of National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) of the building showed that it was filled with hazardous carbon monoxide after the fire.

Delhi Police spokesperson MS Randhawa said prima facie it appeared that short circuit caused fire. "Plastic material at the spot caused a lot of smoke. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch," he said.

While locals said there were several factory units work in the area illegally, Delhi government ordered a probe into the incident and sought a detailed report within seven days while announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each has been announced for the next of kin of those killed and Rs one lakh for those injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described the incident as "extremely horrific", announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh each from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for next of kin of those who have lost their lives besides Rs 50,000 each for those seriously injured.

A host of leaders including President Ram Nath Kovind, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were among others expressed shock at the incident.