Delhi: 7 People Dead In Fire Incident At Gokulpuri Area, CM Kejriwal To Meet Victims’ Families

The fire incident was reported in Gokulpuri Police Station area around 1 AM. 30 shanties were burnt while seven people lost their lives.

New Delhi: People stand near charred remains of houses, after a fire broke out in shanties at Gokulpuri area, in New Delhi, Saturday morning, March 12, 2022. Seven people were killed and at least 60 shanties were affected. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Saturday said about 30 shanties were burnt down and seven people lost their lives after a fire broke out in the Gokulpuri area.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he would meet the people affected by fire in the Gokulpuri area of the national capital.

The blaze near pillar number 12 of Gokulpuri village was reported at 1.03 am. Following this, thirteen fire-tenders were rushed to the site.

In a tweet, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wrote: "I got to hear this sad news in the morning. I will go there and meet the victims."

सुबह सुबह ये दुःखद समाचार सुनने को मिला। मैं स्वयं वहाँ जाकर पीड़ित लोगों से मिलूँगा। https://t.co/rcsN6yIse6

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 12, 2022

Speaking to the news agency, additional deputy commissioner of Police of North East Delhi, Devesh Kumar Pandey said, "At 1 AM today, there was a fire incident reported in Gokulpuri Police Station area. Immediately after gathering information, our teams reached the spot with all the rescue equipment. We also contacted the Fire Department which responded very well. We all managed to douse the fire by around 4 am."

"...30 shanties have been burned down and seven people lost their lives," he added.

Meanwhile, Delhi Fire Director Atul Garg told news agency ANI that 60 huts were also completely burnt and the cause behind the fire is not known. 

We recovered 7 charred bodies which are unrecognisable, it seemed that these people were sleeping & couldn't escape as the fire spread extremely fast. 60 huts were also completely burnt. We are yet to know the reasons behind the fire: Atul Garg, Delhi Fire Director pic.twitter.com/zP4F12qqRG

— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2022

The fire was brought under control on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, as per the Delhi Fire Service department.

Seven bodies have been retrieved from the site of the incident.

The department officials also informed that around 13 fire tenders were rushed to the site after gathering information about the incident.

The investigation in the matter is underway.