Delhi factory blaze: 11 charred to death; 'traffic curbs due to farmers' protest delayed fire tenders', fireman says

NEW DELHI: Eleven people died and four others were injured after a massive fire broke out at a paint factory at Dayalpur Market in north Delhi's Alipur area Thursday evening. Police have registered a case and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

The deceased have been transferred to Babu Jagjeevan Ram Hospital, while the injured have been taken to Raja Harish Chandra Hospital in Delhi.The identities of the deceased remain unknown, Fire Department officials said.
The officials said they received a call at 5.25pm and rushed 22 fire tenders to the site. The fire, which broke out from the ground floor of the factory, was brought under control after four hours. It is suspected the factory had a single staircase with no firefighting equipment.
The blaze was so strong that walls of houses adjacent to the factory were impacted.
Police have registered a case and the cause behind the blaze is being investigated.
Officials also added that those who died were completely charred and have been sent to a mortuary. An effort is on to identify them.
"Upon receiving the information, 22 fire tenders were rushed to the site. The fire was brought under control after 4 hours after which a cooling and a search operation started," an official said. Atul Garg, director of DFS, said 150 firefighters tackled the blaze. He said no NOC for fire safety was given to the factory.
"Apart from the paint factory, a few shops and a rehabilitation centre were running inside the structure which have collapsed," a fire official added.
Police said they had evacuated a family to a safe place. The paint factory is ruined.
Fire officials said that the blaze started on the ground floor of the factory. It is also suspected that the factory had a single staircase with no firefighting equipment. "Prima facie, it seems the fire emanated from the entry point of the staircase, due to which the workers were unable to escape," an official said.
Shyamu Kumar, who lives with his family just two streets away from the factory, told TOI about the chaos that ensued. "My 18-year-old brother, Shubham, had recently started working in the factory. The last I saw him was during lunch after which he returned to the factory and has been missing since. As soon as I was informed about the fire, I left my work and hurried towards the factory. I tried ringing up my brother, but after a few minutes the phone was switched off. We are worried sick, no one has been telling us anything," Kumar said.
Due to traffic snarls caused by barricades set up for the farmers' protest, fire tenders got delayed. "There were massive traffic snarls in the area close to the spot due to which we had to make several diversions," a fire officer said.