NEW DELHI: At least three people were killed early on Sunday after a fire broke out at a multi-storeyed residential building in the Krishna Nagar area of Delhi's Shahdara district.
The incident follows a major fire at a children's hospital in Vivek Vihar just hours earlier, which resulted in multiple infant fatalities.
Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said that a house fire call was received from the Krishna Nagar area at 2.35 am, following which three fire engines were deployed to douse the flames.
"The fire was in 11 two-wheelers in the stilt parking of the house and it had also spread on the first floor. The building is comprised of ground (stilt) plus four floors and has an area of 100 sq yards. The upper second, third, and fourth floors were affected by heat and smoke," Garg said.
Firefighters rescued 13 people from the upper floors and transported them to various hospitals. After extinguishing the fire, a charred body was discovered on the building's first floor.
Of the 13 people rescued, two died during treatment, and one remains in critical condition and has been transferred to Max Hospital.
The deceased were identified as 66-year-old Parmila Shad (charred body found on the first floor), Keshav Sharma (18) and Anju Sharma (34) while Devender's (41) condition is critical.
The others who were rescued were identified as Ruchika (minor injury), Sonam Shad (15% burns), Divyansh (6), Gaurav (41), Karan Raj Bhalla (56), Rahul Bhalla (35), Rohit Bhalla (30), Manish Bhalla (25), and Seema (54).
Meanwhile, DCP (Shahdara) Surendra Chaudhary told TNIE that a legal action is being taken under sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code in the matter.