New Delhi: At least 21 people died and 27 were injured out of a total of 37 people rescued from a massive fire at a restaurant in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning, according to the fire department. According to officials, the fire was reported at around 8:50 am in the restaurant located in Malviya Nagar. The Delhi Fire Service initially sent six fire tenders and emergency response vehicles to the spot. As the intensity of the fire became clear, additional firefighting units were rushed to the spot.
At around 9:16 am, the incident was upgraded to a "Make-4" fire category, with a total of 10 firefighting vehicles, including a water tender, water bowser, a quick response vehicle, a multipurpose vehicle and a breathing apparatus support unit, being deployed.
During the initial rescue operation, firefighters successfully entered the smoke-filled basement of the restaurant and rescued three persons, who were immediately shifted to the hospital in CATS ambulances. The teams then intensified the search operation to find more people trapped in the building.
By 11:20 am, officials said that 40 people had been rescued from the building by DFS personnel, police teams and local residents. The rescued persons were taken to various hospitals for medical examination and treatment. AAP leader Somnath Bharti also reacted to the incident in a post on 'Ex'. Bharti wrote, "A massive fire broke out in a multi-storey building in my assembly constituency, Hauzrani, at around 8.30 am today, loss of life is likely. Most of them are South African citizens."
Violations of rules
Initial investigation has revealed shockingly that this property named 'Flourish Stay' was licensed to operate only 6 rooms under the Delhi government's 'Bed and Breakfast' policy. But due to greed, a total of 25 rooms including the basement were built here by flouting the rules. The most serious thing is that this hotel did not even have the 'Fire No Objection Certificate', which is the most important requirement for commercial use.