Delhi fire: 29 missing, 7 bodies identified

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 14

A day after a massive blaze in a building in outer Delhi’s Mundka area claimed 27 lives, people were today seen frantically searching for their relatives who worked in that building. The police said 29 persons had been missing after the incident.

Fire Department officials said the toll could rise to 30 as charred remains were found in the building this morning. Twelve injured have been undergoing treatment at a hospital here. Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said, “The building had a single escape route, which is why there were so many casualties. Twenty-seven persons have died.”

He said there was one narrow staircase for entry and exit that made escape from the building difficult. An explosion in an AC might have triggered the fire, he said. It was difficult to ascertain whether the charred human remains found on Saturday morning were of one person or more, he added.

Harish Goel and his brother Varun Goel, owners of the CCTV camera and router manufacturing unit from where the fire reportedly started, have been arrested and a case registered against them, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sameer Sharma said. Of the 27 deceased, seven have been identified as Tania Bhushan, Mohini Pal, Yashoda Devi, Ranju Devi, Vishal, Drishti and Kailash Jyani, the DCP added. Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia visited the spot on Saturday. The CM announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured. Kejriwal also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and said those responsible for it would not be spared.

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said he was “deeply pained” by the loss of lives in the tragedy, and called for immediate steps to prevent such incidents in future. He also extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

Deepa Verma, Director of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, said, “Two teams are working at the spot and collecting samples for the purpose of identification.”

As charred human remains had been found, forensic DNA examination would be carried out to ascertain the identity of the deceased, she noted.

So far, the identity of all but one of the 12 injured has been ascertained. They are Satish (38), Pradeep (36), Ashu (22), Harjeet (23), Nitin (24), Avinash (29), Sandhya (22), Dhanvanti (21), Bimla (43), Ayesha (24) and Mamta (52).

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