A 40-year-old woman died while 25 others were injured after a massive fire broke out in a flat in East Delhi's Shakarpur on Tuesday. According to an IANS report, Director of Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Atul Garg said a fire call was received from the Laxmi Nagar area on Tuesday at 1:03 AM.
Fire officials said the blaze started in its parking area in the early hours of the day and engulfed the entire structure. Upon receiving information about the incident, fire tenders reached the spot and started the rescue operations.
"We got a fire call at about 1.05 am... We immediately pressed three fire engines to service. Later, five more fire engines were rushed to the spot. The matter was informed to the police immediately," an official of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said.
Some people jumped out of the windows to save themselves. All of them were rushed to hospitals, including a fireman who was injured during the rescue operation.
The fire personnel rescued people one by one by placing a ladder next to the window of the building.
The fire was extinguished after a few hours of firefighting, officials said. The fire department officials said the blaze was brought under control around 8:35 am.
The fire officials said that 31 people were trapped inside the building when it caught fire. Of which five jumped off the balconies to save themselves and the rest were brought out of the building by firefighters, according to PTI. Ten people were rushed to hospitals such as the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital and other medical facilities and one woman died during treatment.
The woman, identified as Anita, died of burn injuries, the officials said, adding that another person, Naresh Nagar, suffered a fracture in his leg after jumping off the first floor of the burning building.
During the fire operation, a total of 17 fire tenders reached the spot to douse the flames. CAT ambulances, a BSES team and a crime and forensics team were also pressed into service.
The initial inquiry revealed that the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the parking area on the ground floor. The fire started to climb upwards and soon it engulfed the first floor. Residents of the upper floors sustained injuries due to excessive heat and smoke, the DCP, Amrutha Guguloth told PTI.
Four cars, 11 two-wheelers and three bicycles parked on the ground floor were gutted, they said.
An FIR under sections 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC has been registered and further investigation into the matter has been launched, DCP Amrutha Guguloth added.