New Delhi: At least nine people were killed and several others injured after a massive fire engulfed a four-storey building in Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area on Sunday morning.
The death toll could rise with some people feared trapped inside. Vivek Vihar is a prime location in East Delhi.
Authorities said that the fire broke out on the second floor of the building around 4 am, following which as many as 14 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to put out the blaze and carry out rescue operations. On reaching the spot, officials found the fire had spread to the third and fourth floors of the building, as reported by NDTV.
Rescuers managed to bring out over a dozen people from the building. The injured were sent to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for treatment.
It took the fire department nearly two hours to bring the blaze under control. Visuals showed many parts of the building burnt and smoke coming out from the top floor.
“Early in the morning, around 4 am, a call was received about a fire. Fire tenders and local police were immediately rushed to the spot. It took about two hours to bring the fire under control, after which search operations were carried out,” Rajendra Prasad Meena, DCP, Shahdara, said.
All the bodies have been recovered and handed over to the Delhi Police crime team, officials said.
While there has been no official comment on the cause of the fire, a local resident claimed that an AC blast may have been responsible.
“A blast in the AC triggered the fire… Around 12-15 were rescued. However, 4-5 people are still missing,” he told news agency ANI.
Two families are still stranded in the building, another local said.
“The fire brigade rescued around 20 people through the balcony, but I think some people from the flats at the back were unable to come outside. I think 1-2 families are still stuck inside,” he said.
