Nine people, including three children, were killed after a fire erupted in a cloth godown in North Delhi’s Kirari area in the early hours of Monday, the Delhi Fire Service told PTI. Three injured persons have been admitted to a hospital.
The fire broke out around 12.30 am. Eight fire tenders were sent to the spot and the blaze was brought under control by 3.50 am. The godown was located on the ground floor of a three-storey building. The building had no equipment to douse the fire and only one staircase, reported The Indian Express.
Health Minister Satyendra Jain said the government will bear the treatment expenses of the injured, PTI reported. He announced Rs 10 lakh in compensation for the families of those who died and Rs 1 lakh each for those injured.
“I got to know that nine people have died,” Jain said. “One by burn injuries while the eight died due to suffocation. Three are injured and admitted to the hospital. We have given the order of the SDM investigation.”
The police have identified the deceased as Ram Chandra Jha, Sundari Devi, Sanju Jha, Guddan, Uday Chaudhary and his wife Muskan along with their three children – Anjali, 10, Adarsh, 7, and six-month-old Tulsi.
An official said that due to a cylinder blast on the second floor a part of the building had collapsed.
Earlier this month, 43 people were killed in a major fire at Anaj Mandi factory in Delhi. The fire broke out in the second floor around 5.22 am and spread to the four-storey building from where a number of small manufacturing units functioned. Delhi Fire Service Director Atul Garg said the building did not have a fire safety clearance or safety equipment installed on the premises. The building’s owner and manager have been arrested.
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