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Distressed by tragic fire, tweets President Kovind on fatal Delhi fire
The fire was first spotted near pillar 544 of the metro station, and initially a total of 10 fire tenders were rushed to the site. Later, another 14 were sent to bring the blaze under control.
At least 27 people died in a fire that broke out at a building near west Delhi's Mundka metro station on Friday. Fire department officials said the number could go up as more were feared trapped, and rescue operation was underway. According to available information, another 12 people suffered injuries in the blaze. All of them were being treated at the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed their grief over the tragedy. “Distressed by the tragic fire accident at a building near Mundka Metro Station in Delhi. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish for speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Pradhan Mantri National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of those who died in the fire. Additionally, the PM's office announced, the injured will be given a ₹50,000 aid.
“Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Delhi. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Modi wrote on Twitter.
News agency ANI earlier quoted DCP, Outer district Sameer Sharma as saying fire was spread on two floors. "Police force deployed with the area being cordoned off... Fire on two floors," he was quoted as saying.
As many as 24 fire engines are at the spot to douse the flames. Officials of Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said the fire was reported at 4.40pm.
DFS chief Atul Garg said the fire was first spotted near pillar 544 of the metro station. Initially, 10 fire tenders were rushed to the site. Later, another 14 were sent to bring the blaze under control.
The Delhi Police said that on preliminary inquiry, it was learnt the affected building was typically used for commercial purposes such as providing office space for companies, according to a report by news agency ANI.
“The fire initiated from the first floor of the building which is an office of a CCTV cameras and router manufacturing company,” a police officer was quoted as saying.
The owner of the firm was taken into custody, police said.
(With inputs from Delhi bureau)
