2 killed as e-rickshaw battery blast sparks fire in Delhi residential building

Fire officials said the blaze gutted domestic articles on the first floor of the building with a ground floor and four upper floors

Two people, including a 17-year-old boy, were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in West Delhi’s Raghubir Nagar early Monday following an explosion in an e-rickshaw battery parked outside, fire officials said.

The fire was brought under control by around 5.25am. (Shutterstock)

Officials said that Sufaid, 17, son of Mohammad Nasib, the building owner, and Mohammad Samid, 38, his brother-in-law, were injured and rushed to Guru Gobind Singh Hospital in Raghubir Nagar, where doctors declared them dead.

The Delhi Fire Services said the fire at the building on Masjid Gurudwara Road, Raghubir Nagar, was reported around 4:42am. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

Fire officials said the blaze gutted domestic articles on the first floor of the building with a ground floor and four upper floors. A preliminary probe suggested that the fire started after the e-rickshaw battery exploded.

The fire was brought under control by around 5.25am when a station officer issued a “stop” message, fire officials said. The two victims were taken to the hospital before the arrival of the fire department teams, they added.

A police officer said that the e-rickshaw was on charge on the ground floor and is suspected to have exploded, leading to the fire on the ground and other floors.