Delhi: Fire Breaks Out In Basement Of Building In Lajpat Nagar Market, 80 People Rescued

The rescue operation was started and window panes had to be broken as people trapped inside the building were gasping for air

Rescue Operation By Fire Dept Officials

Source : ANI

New Delhi: Around 80 people were rescued after a fire broke out in the basement of a building in Lajpat Nagar market in southeast Delhi on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported. According to officials, the fire started in the electrical panel of the building. The ground and first floors of the building have a private bank, while the second and third floors house a private company, as per the fire officials.

According to the PTI report, a senior fire official said that the information about the fire was received at 2.54 pm following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. All the people on the other floors of the building were safely evacuated, he said.

Around 80 people were rescued safely by the Delhi Fire Services personnel from the first, second and third floors, and the fire was only in the basement, the officials said.

According to police, people started choking and panicking after smoke engulfed the entire building. The rescue operation was started and window panes had to be broken as people trapped inside the building were gasping for air, a senior police officer said.

The officials calmed the people down and helped to reach a window on the backside of the building. The police personnel then climbed to the window with the help of ladders and ropes, and rescued the people by forming a human chain, the officer further said, adding no one was injured in the process.

Notably, on June 12 last year, five showrooms were gutted after a massive fire broke out in the Lajpat Nagar market. Three buildings housing showrooms of garments, watches and crockery had caught fire. No one was inside the shops at the time of the incident.