Delhi: 42 dead in over 2,000 fire incidents in May so far. Here’s a list

Fire department officials told PTI the Mundka blaze that killed at least 27 people and injured 16 others was among the major fire incidents in May this year.

Delhi has seen more than 2,000 fire-related incidents in May this year that have claimed lives of at least 42 people. The fire department said it received 2,145 fire-related calls in the first 19 days of May, which is the highest in the ongoing month so far as opposed to the same period in the past three years.

The charred building in Mundka, Delhi where a fire broke out on May 13 and killed 27 people and injured 16 others. (Raj K Raj/HT)

News agency PTI, citing data from the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), said that of the 2,145 calls, a total of 117 were non-fatal.

During the entire month of May, 2021, the national capital witnessed 2,174 fire-related incidents, while 2,325 such incidents were reported during the same period, the year before. In May 2019, as many as 3,297 fire incidents were reported, the DFS data showed.

As far as fatalities due to these incidents are concerned, in May last year, 41 people died, followed by 10 in May 2020, and 18 in May 2019.

Fire department officials told PTI the Mundka blaze that killed at least 27 people and injured 16 others was among the major fire incidents in May this year. They added that most of these incidents were reported either from factories and slum clusters of commercial buildings.

The officials said a majority of the factories or commercial buildings from the incidents were reported, owners did not have a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the DFS. The multi-storey building near west Delhi's Mundka metro station where the fire broke out on May 13 also did not have an NOC.

DFS chief Atul Garg said that during winters, there is less number of fire incidents reported as compared to the summer season. A severe heatwave continued to sweep through Delhi and most regions of the north, northwest and central India last week, pushing the maximum temperature to plummet to over 49 degrees Celsius at two weather stations.

Talking about challenges during rescue operations, fire department officials said many of the areas where fire breaks out are congested pockets of the national capital, which limit and delay the reach of fire tenders.

They also said that most of the callers do not inform what kind of materials are stuffed or being manufactured in factories, thus posing a challenge during relief work.

Let's take a look at some of the major fire incidents reported in May 2022 so far:

Mundka fire

The deadly fire on May 13 first broke out in the first floor of the four-storey building, and then spread to the rest of the floors. Initially when the news of the blaze was reported, a total of 24 fire tenders were deployed and one woman's body was found. As the evening progressed, DFS officials found a total of 27 bodies from the rubble. As they were charred beyond recognition, the Delhi Police said it will conduct DNA sampling to identify the bodies. Two businessmen and the building owner who ran an industrial unit there have been nabbed.

Ashok Vihar banquet hall fire

This incident occurred on May 17 at a four-storey building on GT Karnal Road near Ashok Vihar in northwest Delhi. The manager of the banquet hall, identified as Harsh Chopra, was killed in the blaze, police and fire department officials said. Garg said a total of 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and as many as 30, including the manager, were found unconscious. All of them were taken to a hospital, but Chopra was declared dead.

Mustafabad fire

A 42-year-old man was charred to death while at least six others, including a woman, sustained serious burns on Thursday after a fire broke out following an explosion at a factory in northeast Delhi's Mustafabad area. Neighbourhood residents told HT that the explosion was so loud they thought it was a bomb or that a building had collapsed. Police and fire department officials suspected that the blast may have happened in a gas cylinder or in the compressor of a powder coating plant that was installed on the first floor of the factory building.

The factory manufactured and painted air cooler fan blades and metallic bodies of stabilisers and inverters.