DELHI – (MaraviPost)- At least 27 people have died and scores injured following massive fire that razed a commercial building in the Indian capital New Delhi.
Confirming the incident, Sunil Choudhary, deputy chief fire officer from the Delhi fire service said at least 40 had sustained burns and were being treated in hospital.
The fire likely started on the first floor, where a generator was kept on the late afternoon on Friday before it spread to the second and third floors of the building, India Express reported.
Choudhary was quoted saying the third floor of the building had not yet been searched and more dead bodies were expected to be recovered.
Other reports indicated that the building is used as office space for multiple companies including a company that manufactures CCTV cameras and routers.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones. He has also wished the injured victims a speedy recovery.
Fires are common in India due to poor building practices and a lack of adherence to safety regulations.
The capital is home to 20 million people and currently, it is battling with heatwave that is causing temperatures to rise up to 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) in some places.
The last known India’s worst fire accident was in 1985 at a school in the northern state of Haryana that killed 442 people including 258 children.
In May 2021, sixteen Covid-19 patients and two nurses were killed in a fire at a hospital in Gujarat state and 22 others were killed in Mumbai the month before.
In 2019, fire caused by an electrical short circuit engulfed a building in New Delhi killing 43 people.
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