- About 60 people, including casualties, were taken out of the buildings, police said
- Many of the men in the factory were migrant workers from the impoverished border state of Bihar in eastern India, relatives said
SCMP 8 Dec, 2019
A fire engine in an alleyway, tangled in electrical wire and too narrow for vehicles to access, in New Delhi. Photo: APA massive fire swept through a factory in India on early Sunday morning, killing at least 43 people at leaving many others injured.
About 60 people, including workers, were present in the four-storey building near Sadar Bazaar, New Delhi’s largest wholesale market for household goods, when the fire broke out on the second floor, where many of them were sleeping.
Assistant New Delhi police commissioner Anil Kumar Mittal said the fire appeared to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, adding that authorities were investigating whether the factory was operating legally.
The building’s owner, Rihan, who goes by one name, was detained on suspicion of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Mittal said.
A fire engine stands by the site of a fire in an alleyway. Photo: AP
A resident of the area, Mohammed Naushad, said he was woken by people wailing at around 4.30am. He went outside to find smoke and flames shooting out of the factory.
Inside, he found the fourth floor engulfed in flames. One floor below, he saw “20 to 25 people lying on the floor”.SUBSCRIBE TO THIS WEEK IN ASIAGet updates direct to your inboxSUBMITBy registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy
“I don’t know if they were dead or unconscious, but they were not moving,” Naushad said.
He said he carried at least 10 people out of the flames on his shoulders and into the arms of emergency workers.
Charred goods are seen inside a factory that caught fire in New Delhi. Photo: AP
Maisuma Bibi, a day labourer making plastic handbags, survived the blaze. She said she was sleeping in a room with about 18 other women and children on the building’s first floor when she woke to find a bag full of plastic parts on fire. Her brother-in-law carried her to safety, she said.
Outside a mortuary that was guarded by dozens of police officers, some of the workers’ relatives said they received phone calls from the men trapped inside, who begged them to call the fire brigade.
Many of the men were migrant workers from the impoverished border state of Bihar in eastern India, relatives said. They earned as little as 150 rupees (US$2.10) per day making handbags, caps and other garments, sleeping at the factory between lengthy shifts.
Relatives arrive to identify the bodies of their loved ones in New Delhi. Photo: AP
Many of the victims were asleep when the blaze began, according to a police spokesman, Yogesh, who uses one name.
Firefighters fought the blaze from 100 metres away because it broke out in one of the area’s many alleyways, tangled in electrical wire and too narrow for vehicles to access, authorities at the scene said.
A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against the building’s owner, but no arrests were immediately made, said assistant New Delhi police commissioner Anil Kumar Mittal, adding that authorities were investigating whether the factory was operating legally.
Members of India’s National Disaster Response Force at the site of a fire in New Delhi. Photo: Reuters
Kishore Singh, a doctor, said rescuers brought victims to his government-run hospital and two others in the city. Another 16 people were being treated for burns or smoke inhalation and were in stable condition, Singh said.
Police barred relatives from entering Lok Nayak hospital, where some of the victims were taken. Relatives of the workers cried, consoled one another and jostled for information.
“I was told by someone my nephew is inside, but I haven’t seen him,” Moti said.
A man cries after learning his brother was lost in the fire. Photo: AP
Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the blaze was put out by 25 fire trucks. About 60 people, including casualties, were taken out of the building, according to police spokesman Arun Kumar Mittal.
Distraught relatives also appeared at the site of the blaze.
Manoj, who uses one name, was quoted by local media as saying that his brother Naveen, 18, was working in a handbag factory in the building.
“I got a call from his friend informing that he has been injured in the incident. I have no clue which hospital he has been taken to,” he told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Indian Minister for Housing and Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri, centre, arrives at the site of a fire. Photo: AP
New Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, also appeared at the scene of the fire, promising victims’ families compensation.
Manoj Tiwari, a New Delhi lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said most of the casualties occurred on the third floor of the building.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the fire as “extremely horrific”.
“My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. Wishing the injured a quick recovery,” Modi tweeted. Authorities are providing all possible assistance at the site of the tragedy, he said.
More than 35 people succumbed to death in #FireAccident at Anaj Mandi, Central Delhi
While the injured need to be transported in local Autos, can’t CM Arvind Kejriwal provide enough ambulances? Disappointing #DelhiFire #AnajMandi #Delhi
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.
In 1997, a fire in a movie theatre in New Delhi killed 59 people.
In February this year, 17 people were killed by a fire in a six-story hotel in the Indian capital that started in an illegal rooftop kitchen.
Associated Press and Kyodo