A massive fire on the first floor of a building near Mundka metro station on Friday evening, left 27 burnt to death. According to Atul Garg, chief of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), the fire control room received a call reporting the fire about 4.40 pm. At that point, 70 people were trapped on the floor.
The four-storied commercial building operated as a business facility, primarily to hold office spaces for production units. The first floor housed the office of a wifi-router and CCTV cameras manufacturer.
The police and fire personnel had to use ropes to climb from outside. The windows were broken to rescue people out. The blaze was put out after a seven-hours fight but smoke was still reported from the embers.
Twelve persons were injured and were taken to the Sanjay Gandhi hospital. According to DC (Outer), Sameer Sharma, the majority of the bodies were discovered on the second floor.
Teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), along with fire fighters, police and civil defence joined hands in combatting the blaze. According to fire department authorities, 24 fire tenders in all, were on the scene attempting to extinguish the fire.
Meanwhile, family members of missing employees outside the building have been asking officials if they had found more bodies.
President Ram Nath Kovind expressed distress at the tragic fire accident. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also expressed his shock: “Shocked and pained to know abt this tragic incident. I am constantly in touch wid officers. Our brave firemen are trying their best to control the fire and save lives. God bless all,” he tweeted.
According to Jogi Ram Jain, the standing committee chairman of the North MCD: “The structure on Rohtak Road was a commercial property rather than an industrial site. The fire is thought to have been started by a short circuit. It appears the building lacked a fire NOC. We have launched an investigation, and if any municipal officials are found to be at fault, severe penalties will be imposed.”
The fire and firefighting efforts disrupted traffic on both sides of Rohtak Road. Rescue operations are still underway.
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