New Delhi: Super horrific fire engulfed a hotel cum restaurant complex in Malviya Nagar, South Delhi on Wednesday morning, killing at least 21 and injuring many more. However, the tragedy has shocked the entire country over 47 were rescued from the building. The majority of the dead were foreigners who came to India for medical treatment.
How it started
The fire was noticed for the first time around 8:50-9:30 am at Flourish Stay B&B Guest house in Hauz Rani locality, Malviya Nagar. The fire is believed to have started in the basement of the five-story building, where the restaurant was located. It was able to spread throughout the building pretty fast and it also got into a nearby hotel they were called Micasa Homes.
The Delhi Fire Service was informed of the incident around 9.45 am and its personnel rushed to the scene of fire. Helicopter rescue units were able to extract three individuals from the basement and take them in CATS police, which took them to a nearby hospital, but otherwise, rescue efforts proved more than 40 people were rescued, with several reports are putting the number at 47 rescued. This is actually what some reports have come to know.
At the end of the parade, the people present bore witness to a terrifying experience. One man, who passed by the building, reported seeing four to six people jumping from the top story and breaking out through the fire doors, in a panic to be able to exit the building from the heavy smoke and fire. Videos from the scene revealed people yelling as smoke cascaded from the building.
Who were the victims and who were the perpetrators?
At least 17 of the 21 deaths were foreigners from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Liberia, Mozambique and other countries, officials said. This is the city’s most economical guest house and is located near the main hospital in Delhi and many of its residents were from SAARC countries who had come to the city for health care.
Delhi Police had registered a case against the owner of Flourish Inn Hotel, Lokesh Bajaj. Also, a study was done which showed that the hotel could only accommodate 6 rooms, yet that the hotel has been reported to have 25 rooms at the time of the fire and, therefore, may not have been adhering to safety guidelines.
Government Responds
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s has tweet and announcing that the government’s financial assistance to the deceased’s families reflected his grief and remorse. The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) will give Rs 2 lakh each to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. The fire tragedy in Malviya Nagar, Delhi has come as a devastating blow in the lives of the people. Our prayers shall be for the forfeited in the sorrow. I wish a speedy recovery to all the injured. “Authorities have been working hard to help the affected,” PM Modi wrote in his account of social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said he was “shocked” and prayed for the victims of the incident. All teams were deployed to the scene including police, civil, and fire teams and a coordinated response was made to ensure medical attention was provided to all those affected at the scene promptly, he said. Chief Minister of Delhi also expressed her sorrow about the fire incident and said the Delhi government was keeping a watch on the situation as it wanted to give proper assistance to the victims.
Investigation Underway
The police are now studying methods to determine how and why the fire rapidly engulfed the home. One likely question on inquiry would be the presence of proper fire safety equipment at the building and the reason why there were more rooms were to be rented out than he had a licence for as well as whether emergency exits were provided and accessible to guests.
A senior police official said that the death toll could have been a lot more if the rescue teams had not reached them in time. The fire and rescue service and neighbors intervened in no time. In short time, fire and rescue service and people of the locality intervened and rescued people, an official said.
A Recurring Problem
The fire is a stark example of the disregard of fire safety in Delhi and India in general. Often buildings particularly hotels, restaurants and commercial buildings are not in compliance with the necessary fire safety clearances. Sadly, these days, people lose their lives due to illegal building works or substandard safety conditions, and it continues to happen. While the tragedy has claimed 21 human lives, the issue now is to hold accountable the responsible parties and to ensure that such an avoidable tragedy never happens again.
