NEW DELHI - The Delhi government will launch a crackdown on properties violating fire safety norms after a fire at a hotel in the Indian capital killed 21 people on Wednesday, including 12 foreign nationals, the chief minister’s office said.
The blaze — the deadliest the city has seen since 2022 — broke out at Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast in the congested Malviya Nagar neighbourhood in the south of the city, which is popular among patients being treated at a hospital nearby and their relatives.
Local television showed flames leaping from the building and thick plumes of black smoke rising into the sky. People trapped on upper floors were seen jumping onto mattresses laid out below.
“We got mattresses from a nearby bedding shop because people needed to be rescued,” Mohammad Anees, a local resident, told AFP.
“Once the mattresses were laid out, five women jumped from the building and landed safely on them.”
Authorities said more than 40 people were taken to hospitals for treatment. Eight were reported to be in critical condition.
The blaze was eventually brought under control with the help of eight fire engines, police said.
Some reports suggested the hotel had just one door for entry and exit and lacked proper ventilation.
A criminal case has been lodged and the owner of the hotel has been arrested, police said.
A city-wide crackdown will be undertaken against all guest houses and other establishments operating in violation of fire safety norms and building by-laws, the Delhi chief minister’s office said in a post on X late on Wednesday.
Non-compliant premises will be sealed and those responsible prosecuted, it said.
The foreign nationals killed in the fire included people from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique and Liberia, according to media reports. Reuters was unable to independently verify the information.
India’s foreign ministry is in touch with the embassies concerned and is extending all necessary assistance, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. Electrical short circuits, often caused by poorly maintained wiring, remain the leading cause of fire incidents in India.
The last major fire incident in Delhi killed 43 factory workers sleeping in a building in the city’s old quarter in 2019.
