Six people, including two children, were killed and 16 others injured when a fire broke out in a residential building in the densely-populated Zakir Nagar area of southeast Delhi early on Tuesday, the fire department said.
Atul Garg, chief fire officer of Delhi Fire Services, said while two of the victims were charred to death, others died of asphyxiation from the smoke. Garg said that some of the occupants of the building also tried to save themselves by jumping from the building, but were injured in the process.
Of the 16 injured, at least seven are in serious condition and have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Holy Family Hospital. The injured include two firefighters, said the officer.
Garg said prima facie it looked like the fire broke out in the electric metre board of the building that has a stilt parking and four floors. There were at least two dozen residents in the building at that time.
The fire department received a call at 2.21am from the Joga Bai neighbourhood of Zakir Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}The fire department received a call at 2.21am from the Joga Bai neighbourhood of Zakir Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}The firefighters rescued at least 20 people, many of who were injured from the blaze. When they began scanning the building for people inside, they found two residents charred to death and many others unconscious.
The identities of the dead and the injured and their relationship with each other are being ascertained, said a senior police officer. The police are in the process of registering a first information report (FIR).
The blaze also gutted seven cars and eight motorcycles. Five fire tenders were sent to the spot, but they faced difficulty in reaching the place through narrow and congested lanes.
While the fire has been doused, the firefighters continued searching the building for more bodies or survivors inside.