Delhi Fire Tragedy: 27 Dead As NDRF Continues Rescue Ops. Building Owner Remains Absconding

The police have taken the owners of the business in custody while the building owner who lived on the top floor is absconding. 

The fire incident took place on Friday evening. ( Image Source :ANI )

New Delhi: The NDRF team is conducting a rescue operation in the four-storey building in Mundka that caught fire late Friday evening, resulting in 27 deaths so far. During the investigation, it has been revealed that the commercial building did not have a fire NOC and the building owner is absconding, police told news agency ANI.

The police also added that the owner has been identified as Manish Lakra. 

"The building did not have a fire NOC. The owner of the building has been identified as Manish Lakra who lived on the top floor. Lakra is currently absconding, teams are on the job and he will be nabbed soon," DCP Sameer Sharma (Outer District) told reporters.

He added that 27 people have been killed and 12 injured so far. “A total of 27 people have died and 12 are injured. We'll take the help of the forensic team to identify the bodies. FIR has been registered. We've detained company owners. There are chances that more bodies may be recovered as the rescue operation is yet to be completed,” he said.

Delhi Mundka Fire | Morning visuals from the spot where a massive fire broke out in a building yesterday, May 13

"27 people died and 12 got injured in the fire incident," said DCP Sameer Sharma, Outer District pic.twitter.com/wRErlnj3h0

— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2022

As per the reports, the fire broke out on the first floor of the building near Mundka metro station which is the office of a CCTV and router manufacturing company. 

The police have taken the owners of the business in custody while the building owner who lived on the top floor is absconding. 

Meanwhile, DCP Sameer Sharma said that 50 people have been rescued so far and the search and rescue operation is still going on. 

On late Friday evening, the distraught relatives of the victims thronged the Sanjay Gandhi hospital in order to find their loved ones, news agency PTI reported.

One of them, Ajit Tiwari, said his sister Monika (21) is missing since the incident.

"She started working at a CCTV camera packaging unit last month and received her first salary on Thursday. We got to know about the fire at 5 pm but had no idea that the blaze occurred at her office building. When she did not return home by 7 pm, we started looking for her," Tiwari said.

Monika lives with her two brothers and a sister at Delhi's Agar Nagar. She hails from the Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh.

There are many others who are looking for their family members after the incident. In order to help those, a Help desk has been set up at the Sanjay Gandhi hospital. 

Civil Defence Officer, SP Tomar told ANI, "This is to help the people whose loved ones are missing or injured so that they get the correct info."

As per ANI, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is set to visit the site later this morning.