NEW DELHI: Two children died and five people were injured when a massive fire gutted over 800 shanties in a jhuggi cluster at Sector 17 in Rohini on Sunday morning, a Delhi Fire Service official said. According to officials, the devastating blaze covered nearly five acres, with thick clouds of smoke rising high into the sky as firefighters battled the inferno for several hours.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received a distress call around 11.55 am reporting a fire near Sriniketan Apartment.
“We received a call reporting a fire close to Sriniketan Apartment at Sector 17. We immediately dispatched 17 fire engines. Upon observing the intensity of the fire, we upgraded it to a medium category fire by 12.40 pm and called for more vehicles and manpower,” a DFS official said. A total of 26 fire tenders were pressed into service as the fire quickly engulfed the densely packed huts. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Amit Goel confirmed the tragic loss of two young lives.
“The bodies of two children, a two-and-a-half-year-old and a three-year-old, were recovered from the remains,” he said, adding that they were sent to a nearby hospital.
The firefighting operation was complicated by the narrow and obstructed access to the site. “There is an apartment complex with boundary walls in front of the affected area, making access extremely difficult. Fire engines had to be lined up one behind the other, delaying the operation,” the DFS official said. After more than three hours of intensive efforts, the fire was finally brought under control. “The fire is now completely under control. Cooling operations are in progress,” the official said. Multiple police teams and additional manpower from the fire service continued search and cooling operations into the evening. Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire may have originated within the cluster itself.
“There are no organised electrical wiring systems in the area but several LPG cylinders were found, which could have contributed to the spread of the fire,” the DFS official said.
Police teams are probing the exact cause of the incident, the officials added.
Some locals said that more than 1,000 poor families have been staying here from many years and all are labourers from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.
"We lost everything due to fire. We don't even have a hut to stay and save our families from the heatwave. We usually earn Rs 300 to 500 every day. Where we will go now? We request the government for a special assessment and proper compensation," Geeta Devi, who lost her shanty in the fire, said.
She further said that they are not even able to console the family members who lost their children due to the fire incident.
"The family members are totally inconsolable. They need help from the government," she added.
Delhi's former chief minister Atishi said in a post on X, "There was a huge fire in the slums of Rohini at 1 pm today. Two children lost their lives in that fire. And what was Chief Minister Rekha Gupta doing at that time?
She was listening to "Mann Ki Baat".
The whole day passed - forget about going to the slums of Rohini, the Chief Minister did not even find time to tweet about this."
AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal in a post on X said, "The news of the burning of huts and the tragic death of two innocent children due to fire in Rohini area of Delhi is extremely painful.
All the local workers of the party are appealed to fully cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue operation," he wrote in Hindi.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also reached the spot and met the victim's family members.
(With inputs from PTI)