New Delhi, May 3 — Nine people were killed and several others injured after a fire broke out in a residential building in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar in the early hours of Sunday, police said.
A PCR call was received at 3.48 am, following which police teams, along with fire and disaster response personnel, rushed to B-13, Vivek Vihar Phase-I. By the time responders reached, flames had engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors, an official said.
Twelve fire tenders were deployed as part of a large-scale firefighting operation involving the Delhi Fire Service, police and disaster management teams.
“Flames had spread across multiple floors when teams arrived. Rescue and firefighting operations were launched immediately,” a police official said.
Around 12 to 15 residents were rescued from the building during the operation. Two persons with minor injuries were shifted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for treatment.
In a preliminary assessment, officials confirmed nine fatalities. The charred bodies were recovered from different parts of the building — one from the first floor, five from the second floor, and three from a locked staircase mumty.
According to the fire department, the blaze is suspected to have originated from domestic articles before spreading to six flats.
Search operations were continuing to rule out the presence of more victims and to ascertain the exact cause of the fire, officials said.