Authorities said the fire started at an establishent in Malviya Nagar area at around 8.45am (India time). Some of those killed are foreigners from Central Asia and Africa
Twenty-one people were killed when a fire broke out at a hotel in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning. Many of the victims were travellers from Africa, who were staying at the bed-and-breakfast facility. According to the police, the toll is likely to rise as many of the guests were sleeping when the fire broke out in the morning before 9am.
The fire has been successfully extinguished with the assistance of eight fire tenders, said the spokesperson of the Delhi police. Through the coordinated efforts of police, fire services, and other emergency responders, more than 40 persons have been rescued and shifted to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.
The hotel had been permitted to operate six rooms under the Bed and Breakfast scheme, but was allegedly operating 25 rooms, according to the police. The building was completely burnt and the windows blackened. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs200,000 (about Dh7,700) to each of the victims families. The injured would be given Rs50,000. “The loss of lives due to a fire incident in Malviya Nagar, Delhi is tragic, Modi said in a post on X. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected.
Many of the neighbours had laid mattresses outside the hotel, enabling some of the guests, trapped on the floors, to jump down. Two women jumped down from the hotel and landed on the mattresses, but were seriously injured. They were taken to hospital. A chef working at the restaurant told the media that he was surprised when he tried to switch on an electric stove, which suddenly flared up with flames. When I stepped out, I saw the entire hotel was on fire.
Most of the guests at the hotel were relatives or attendants of the patients who were being treated at the nearby Max hospital. The hotel is located in a narrow lane and in a congested locality, making it difficult for the fire-fighters and the rescue teams.
