NEW DELHI: Nine people, including an infant and two minors, were killed in a massive fire that broke out in a building in northwest Delhi’s Kirari area in the early hours of Monday, police said.
The fire was reported around 12.30 am at a three-storey building in Indra Enclave near Fauzi Vatika in Kirari area. The building’s ground floor was rented out. While the first floor had tenants, the owners lived on the second floor. The building had one staircase connecting all three floors and no fire safety equipment, investigators said. Prima facie the fire appeared to be a result of a short circuit.
“A call was received about a fire. On reaching the spot, it was found that the fire was on the ground floor being used for commercial purpose and as a godown for clothes,” a senior fire officer said.
The fire spread rapidly to the upper floors. “A cylinder kept on the staircase exploded on the second floor, which led to the collapse of a portion of the wall under which three charred bodies were found,” the officer added. Firefighters rescued nine persons, who were admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Uday Chaudhary, 33; his wife Muskan, 26; and their children Anjali, 10; Adarsh, 7; and 6-month-old Tulsi. They were living as tenants on the first floor owned by two brothers — Amarnath and Vednath Mishra. Vednath died of cancer a year ago. The deceased in the other family were identified as Sanju Jha, 36; her mother Guddan; her parents-in-law, Ram Chander Jha, 65 and Sudarya Devi, 58.