4 dead, 3 injured in fire at five-storey building in Delhi's Rohini

New Delhi: Four people died and three got injured in a fire that broke out at a five-storey building housing multiple manufacturing units in Rithala area of Delhi's Rohini, police said on Wednesday.

Sixteen fire tenders were rushed to the building, located in Rohini Sector-5 area, after the fire department received a call regarding a blaze there at around 7.30 pm on Tuesday, officials said.

Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the incident was reported from a premises located near Rithala Metro Station.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and further investigation is in progress. Search operations are still underway to ascertain if any one is still trapped debris. Police have so far recovered four charred bodies, officials said.

Initially, three injured -- Nitin Bansal (31) and Rakesh (30), both with 80 per cent burn injuries, and Virender (25) who sustained minor burns -- were rescued and taken to BSA Hospital, a firefighter said.

However, Nitin and Rakesh were later shifted to RML Hospital for further treatment, he added.

At around 1.15 am on Wednesday, fire personnel recovered three charred bodies from the first floor, the officer said, adding that later another body was found.

The fire department officials said the blaze was brought under control on the lower floors by 6 am, but firefighting operations are still underway on the third and top floor due to heavy smoke.

Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO) of DFS Rajesh Kumar said that the cooling process is still underway.

According to sources in the DFS, the building has no fire safety certificate or proper area from where people can evacuate the premises in case of emergency.

The firefighter added that upon reaching the spot, their team had to deploy a JCB machine to drill a hole in the wall, after which firefighting operations were initiated.

“Initially we got to know that there was chemical stored in the ground floor for the printing purpose," he said.

According to police, a PCR call regarding the blaze was received at Budh Vihar Police Station at 7.29 pm on Tuesday, following which the emergency officer along with local police staff rushed to the spot at Rana Complex, Gate No. 2, Rithala, where several people were reported trapped inside a burning building.

The five-storey building houses several manufacturing units.

The police said the ground and first floors were used for making readymade and plastic bags by Nitin Bansal, son of the building's owner Suresh Bansal.

The second floor was rented to Anand for fabric-related work, while the third and top floor were being used as godown space by Rakesh Arora, who dealt in disposable articles.

Inder Sharma, a resident of the area, said, "I received a call from nearby residents who asked me to remove my car from the spot. Some locals rushed to the spot to help people." Sharma also claimed that some of the residents of the building had jumped from the first and second floor and were rushed to a nearby hospital.

"How many people were trapped inside the building during the fire is still unknown. I saw that the firefighters first drilled a hole using a JCB machine. All the firefighters, police teams and local residents were helping each other to save lives," Sharma added.

Another resident said the fire started from the ground floor and engulfed the entire building due to wind.

"After the cooling operation by DFS is complete, police teams, forensic experts and crime teams will visit the location for a detailed investigation," a police officer said.

Another local resident Satbir Chauhan said that some of the people jumped from the second floor of the building after nearby residents started shouting about the fire.

"I rushed three people to the hospital. The incident is very tragic and everyone must learn a lesson that keeping fire safety equipment is very important," Chauhan said.