At least 21 people have been killed and more than 40 rescued from a fire at a hotel in the Malviya Nagar area of south New Delhi on Wednesday, in one of the worst such incidents in the Indian capital in recent years.
“It is with profound sorrow that 21 persons have been declared dead in this tragic incident,” Delhi Police said in a statement carried by NewsFirst. Television footage showed the building engulfed in smoke and charred at the upper storeys, with two people jumping from a higher floor as the blaze took hold. Local residents joined the rescue effort, helping evacuate trapped occupants and carrying the injured to safety alongside fire and emergency crews.
“There was reportedly a restaurant operating on the ground floor of the building … it is most likely that the fire was connected to that restaurant,” local administration official Jitendra Kumar told reporters at the scene.
Malviya Nagar is a predominantly residential area in south Delhi popular with students and young professionals. The hotel had also been hosting foreign nationals who had travelled to India for medical treatment, local media reported, BBC said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended condolences to families of the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
The fire has since been extinguished but the cause has not been formally established. Fires in Indian cities are a recurring cause of mass-casualty incidents — typically traced back to flouted building codes, blocked exits, and improperly stored fuel — in a country where building safety norms are often poorly enforced.
Sources: Fire At A Hotel In New Delhi; 21 Dead & 40 Rescued — NewsFirst and Malviya Nagar: At least 21 people killed in Delhi restaurant fire — BBC.
