Seventeen people were killed and several others were injured after fire engulfed a hotel in New Delhi’s Karol Bagh area early morning.
To escape the toxic smoke, a woman and a child made a jump from the windows resulting in their death.
The fire broke out at 3 a.m this morning in the upper two floors of the Arpit Palace hotel. A short circuit was suspected to be the cause behind the blaze, fire tenders rushed to the spot only by 4 a.m. The hotel had one-fifty guests in their sixty-five rooms.
The blaze was brought under control at 7 a.m, close to thirty-five people were rescued, the injured were transferred to the closest hospitals in the area. Initial police reports say most deaths occurred due to suffocation.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sadness over the incident and conveyed condolences to the families who lost their loved ones.
Several tourists from Myanmar were staying in thirty-five rooms booked.
Initial reports suggest that the hotel received clearance for only four floors, but the hotel violated norms by building kitchen at the terrace. Delhi’s minister Satyendra Jain had ordered for a magisterial enquiry into the incident.
Karol Bagh is popular tourists attraction for budget hotels among visitors, it’s centrally located in Delhi. The officials in Delhi conduct frequent fire safety measures, however these raids fail to check violations of builders.