17 die in Delhi factory fire

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 20

Seventeen persons, including 10 women, died and two others were injured after a fire ripped through a two-storeyed factory in outer Delhi’s Bawana industrial area this evening, a Delhi Fire Service official said.

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GC Mishra, Director, Delhi Fire Service, said the blaze that started from the storage unit of the firecracker factory on the ground floor had been brought under control, but the rescue operations were underway. The Delhi Fire Service received a call about the fire around 6.20 pm and 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

The official said, “There is a plastic factory on the second storey. The factory falls in the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation area.” The workers inside the factory could not come out as the fire spread rapidly. A few of the workers, to save themselves, jumped off the terrace of the building and sustained injuries.

The Delhi government has ordered an inquiry into the blaze, even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he was keeping a “close watch” on the rescue operations. “Very sad to hear about the large number of casualties,” Kejriwal tweeted. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed anguish at the death of people in the fire. “Deeply anguished by the fire at a factory in Bawana. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives. May those who are injured recover quickly,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

The police said an FIR had been registered. They have identified the owners and they would be questioned.

(With PTI inputs)