Delhi: 2 dead as fire engulfs building in West Patel Nagar

Two people, including a woman, were killed after a massive fire broke out at a residential building in Central Delhi’s West Patel Nagar area.

Two people, including a woman, were killed after a massive fire broke out at a residential building in Central Delhi’s West Patel Nagar area on Monday around 8.30am.

Fire department officials search through the rubble for clues after a massive fire engulfed a building in West Patel Nagar area.(Handout Photo)

Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot and it took them about 45 minutes to douse the fire.

While the firefighters were able to rescue Sneha (30) and admit her to the hospital where she later died, Rinku (38) was trapped and charred inside as he could not be rescued.

“We received a call around 8.30am about smoke emanating from the building. We sent three fire tenders to the spot. The firefighters helped evacuate the building but two people lost their lives,” a fire official said.

Rinku was reportedly the owner of the four-storey building and lived on the ground floor from where the fire is suspected to have started, while Sneha was a tenant and lived on the second floor. “While Rinku who could not be rescued was charred to death, Sneha died of asphyxia. Their bodies have been sent for a postmortem,” a senior police officer said.

According to the police, Rinku was suffering from a neurological disorder. A few years ago, he met with an accident in which he sustained severe head injuries and has been mentally unstable since then. He was undergoing treatment. He often used to collect discarded articles from the road and junk yards around the colony and store them at his house.

“The fire is suspected to have started from the heap of discarded articles that Rinku had gathered at his house. The heap also contained some inflammable material and a minor spark led to a massive fire which spread to the entire building. The building was filled with smoke that nearly choked the residents. While many managed to escape and the building was evacuated, Sneha was caught inside and died of suffocation,” police said.

An inquiry has been initiated in the case, police said.