Saturday, May 14, 2022

A fire broke out in the late afternoon on Friday in Mundka, a town in India’s capital territory of Delhi. The fire began on the first floor of a commercial building near Mundka metro station, quickly engulfing the whole building. It was reported that the building had only one point for both entry and exit, and was not issued a no-objection certificate from the fire department.The initial response of the fire department was to send 10 firemen to the scene, as they were informed that the fire was at a factory, and not a commercial space, and were not aware of the number of trapped persons. As of 14 May, there were 30 fire personnel at the scene. It was reported that many died of asphyxiation due to the lack of exit points.The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) launched a search and rescue operation, with the NDRF chief stating that there were at least 27 confirmed deaths, with the toll expected to rise higher as rescue operations progress. It was also reported that the remains of the dead were being identified, with 8 victims being positively identified as of 14 May.Police have detained three persons, the building owner and the owners of a CCTV-manufacturing company Cofe Impex Pvt. Ltd., Harish Goel and Varun Goel, in whose office the fire began, and have registered an first information report under sections 304-A (causing death due to negligence), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal has announced an ex gratia payment of INR 10,00,000 to the kin of the deceased, and has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allocated INR 2,00,000 and INR 50,000 for the kin of the deceased and the injured respectively, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.Eminent government officials including the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal and the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind have expressed their condolences.

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