NEW DELHI: A Nigerian national died on Saturday at Safdarjung Hospital during treatment on Saturday, taking the death toll to 22. His brother has asked for support from the Indian government and the Delhi police to send the body back home
to Nigeria. “My brother Okele died in the incident at Safdarjung Hospital, while his known associate Chiemeka Emmanuel is still undergoing treatment at Max Hospital. It is heartbreaking and very painful because they came to India only for medical treatment.
I would like to tell the government of India to support sending my brother’s body back home to Nigeria. I think the tragedy could have been averted if they had contacted the fire services on time. The government should support each family,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police is likely to approach IIT-Delhi to analyse the rapid spread of the fire through the building. Police have also suspected that the fire may have been triggered after an air fryer was accidentally left switched on while the cook was preparing tea.
Officials said, it will help them in studying the reason for the rapid fire in the building. The institute may be tasked with conducting a detailed structural and fire-propagation assessment, including 3D mapping of the gutted premises, to reconstruct the sequence of events, said officials.