A Delhi building fire in Swaroop Nagar injured six people, including three children, after residents of an adjacent building reportedly jumped from a height in panic as smoke and heat spread through the area on Sunday morning. All six were taken to hospital and were reported to be out of danger.
The fire broke out at about 11.30am in a building in Khadda Colony in northwest Delhi. The ground floor housed a gym, while the floors above were being used by a unit manufacturing judo uniforms and boxing gloves. Fire department officials said nobody was inside that building when the blaze engulfed its ground and first floors.
Residents in the building opposite began panicking as smoke and heat, intensified by strong winds, appeared to spread towards them. The six injured people were identified as Priyanka, 28, her eight-year-old and five-year-old daughters, Santosh, 33, her eight-year-old daughter Tanvi, and Vijay. Some of them also fell ill after inhaling smoke, officials said.
A video circulating after the incident appeared to show a woman sitting on a ventilator-like structure before losing her grip and falling. Locals could be seen attempting to help her with what appeared to be a rope or stick. The circumstances shown in the video could not be independently established from the report.
Several fire tenders were sent to the site and brought the blaze under control. The cause of the fire had not been determined at the time of the report. Residents said local people rescued between 10 and 12 people from the adjacent building using a ladder. They also attempted to douse the flames but were unable to control the fire.
One resident said he and his friends joined the rescue effort and removed gas cylinders from their homes to reduce the risk of a further incident. Residents also used the stairs to leave the building, according to the account cited in the report.
The incident has also raised questions about the use of the property in a residential setting. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said the property was located in a “non-conforming area” and that it had not granted a licence for the premises. A resident claimed the factory had been operating for three to four years and questioned how it had been allowed to function from a residential area.
The injured residents remained out of danger, while the fire department’s response brought the blaze under control. Officials had yet to ascertain the cause of the fire, and the licensing status of the activity at the property remained a matter for the municipal authorities.
