NEW DELHI, June 3: A massive fire broke out in a hotel in a congested by-lane in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people, including foreigners whose ailing relatives were being treated in hospitals nearby.
The blaze at the Flourish Stay B&B in Hauz Rani in Malviya Nagar started around 8.30 am and quickly spread, catching everybody unawares. Rescue workers, including many locals, rushed to the spot to pull out those trapped inside the five-floor narrow building.
About 40 people were rescued and rushed to hospital where 21 were declared brought dead, officials said. The death toll could rise with several of the injured in a critical condition.
The hotel had permission for only six rooms, granted under the Delhi government’s bed and breakfast policy, but was operating 25, police officials said. Rooms had also come up in the basement.
In a tragedy that was perhaps waiting to happen, they said the hotel had only one entry-exit. The fire NOC is under the scanner. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Among the casualties were foreign nationals, many from Central Asian and African countries, staying in the hotel in to attend to their kin admitted in Max Hospital minutes away.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those who expressed their condolences.
The prime minister said ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured. (PTI)
