Delhi: Massive Hotel Fire Kills At Least 17 Including A Child; Leaves Many Injured

At least 17 were killed and several others were left injured after a massive fire broke out at a hotel in Delhi’s Karol Bagh area on the wee hours of February 12. The fire broke out at Hotel Arpit Palace at around 4:35 am and according to reports, a woman and a child, among those dead, were killed while trying to jump from a window. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said that the death toll may rise.

Delhi: Fire breaks out in Hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh. Fire tenders rushed to the spot. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/YH2CZO6u3D

— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2019

Rescue operations were launched

According to NDTV, at least 20 fire engines rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control by 7:30 am, after which cooling operations were launched by the fire department officials. Reportedly, the fire broke out on the fourth floor of the hotel. The staff said that most of the people who were in the hotel were asleep at the time when the fire broke out. In a four-hour long rescue operation, fire department officials pulled out around 35 people from the hotel and those injured were admitted to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Karol Bagh hotel fire: People jump off the window to save themselves pic.twitter.com/aRNDEs4QSx

— TOI Delhi (@TOIDelhi) February 12, 2019

Eye-witnesses, who shot videos of the incident, shows unruly flames engulfing the building and in one of the videos, a person can be seen dangling from the side of the building and then jumping off. The police have reportedly said that most of the deaths have taken place due to suffocation. While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, the local police have lodged an FIR in connection with the fire and are probing negligence on part of the hotel, reported The Times Of India.

Meanwhile, vice-president of Delhi Hotel Association told ANI, “It was due to fire in ducting because of which it spread to the hotel rooms. All norms were followed here. Licence is issued only after inspection.”

The fire at Hotel Arpit Palace broke out around a week after the massive fire mishap in the ICU of the Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute in Noida. However, this is not the first time that fire broke out at important institutions or buildings in Delhi. Despite rampant checks on violation of norms, fire safety measures and constant raids, the mishaps which pose a great danger to people continue to haunt the city of 1.9 crore people.

Also Read: Mumbai: 5 Dead In Major Fire At High Rise; Third Fire In 2 Weeks