Fire damages Natural History Museum in Delhi, 2 firemen injured

As many as 35 fire tenders were pressed into service to contain the flames. Two firemen were injured in the fire fighting operations.

A fire broke out at the Natural History Museum near Delhi’s Mandi House in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

A fire broke out at the FICCI building in New Delhi in the early morning hours on April 26, 2016. (HT Photo)

As many as 25 fire tenders were used to douse the flames, which was brought under control after a couple of hours.

The fire broke out around 1.45 AM on the top floor of the museum, located in FICCI Building in Mandi House, where some repair work was underway. Some parts of the Ficci auditorium were also damaged in the inferno.

The fire quickly spread to all other floors of the building.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

There were not too many people on the building, which was evacuated by the time fire officials reached there.

The fire broke out at around 1:45 am. It started on the top floor of the building and later spread to other floors (ANI)

Senior police officials of the district and the fire department chief were at the spot to supervise the fire fighting operations.

According to fire department officials, the safety mechanisms of the building were not working.

“Building’s fire safety mechanisms were not working,still we controlled it within two hours, said Rajesh Panwar,Fire Officer.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar visited the site on Tuesday morning and said, “This is tragic, the museum is a national treasure. The loss cannot be quantified.”