News Analysis India

Tag: Fire mishap

  • Fire breaks out at Howrah paint factory, 18 injured 

    By PTI

    SHIBPUR: At least 18 people suffered injuries as a major fire broke out at a paint factory in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Wednesday afternoon, a fire department official said.

    Two of those injured are in “serious” condition, having sustained 80 per cent burns, he said, adding that the blaze was first spotted at the manufacturing unit of Berger Paints in Shibpur around 1.40 pm.

    The paints major, however, stated that 21 of its employees sustained injuries in their attempt to douse the fire. The cause of the fire is being probed, but preliminary investigation points to a short circuit in an AC unit.

    The incident occurred near the exit gate with production area remaining completely unaffected, the release said.

    “The fire was initially contained by the efforts of our team and was brought under complete control by the fire brigade. The best possible medical assistance is being provided to the injured employees caused by the unfortunate incident,” Abhijit Roy, MD & CEO of Berger Paints, said.

    Eight fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames. According to the fire department official, the situation was under control. Buildings adjacent to the factory were evacuated as part of the firefighting operations, he said.

    “Workers were inside the factory when the fire started. While some managed to flee, at least 18 sustained injuries. Since it is a paint unit, there were several inflammable items,” the official added.

    State health department sources said that two critically injured individuals have been admitted to state-run SSKM Hospital, while the other 10 are undergoing treatment at CMRI hospital.

    Fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose, who was monitoring the operation, said that a proper probe will be conducted into the mishap.

  • Mundka fire: Oppn demands probe into alleged delay in firefighting, wants compensation raised

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Opposition BJP and Congress on Saturday demanded a high-level inquiry into the Mundka fire tragedy and an increase in the compensation to the families of the victims.

    The Delhi BJP sought a probe by a retired high court judge as it alleged laxity on the part of agencies concerned and a delay in providing timely help.

    The party’s Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta said if the fire tenders had reached the spot on time, many lives would have been saved. So far, 27 deaths have been reported in the blaze and officials said the toll could rise. “If cranes and ladders had arrived on time, people wouldn’t have jumped from the roof,” Gupta claimed.

    Officials of Delhi Fire Services said that the firefighting and rescue work was affected due to heavy traffic and the congested location of the building that was engulfed in fire.

    Leader of Opposition in Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri also asked for a probe into the alleged delay by fire tenders in reaching there and other violations.

    “It should be investigated why the fire brigade arrived late. While the information about the incident was given at 4:40 PM on Friday, the people present there said that the fire brigade came late by an hour. Even the police had to carry out the rescue operation with the help of local people,” Bidhuri claimed.

    The BJP leaders, including Gupta, visited the site of the fire incident and met the kin of the deceased and injured. Party MLA Vijender Gupta and local MP Hans Raj Hans also visited the area.

    Gupta claimed that about 100 people were feared dead in the fire at the building where at least 200 people were present at the time of the incident.

    Delhi Congress leaders demanded that the AAP government increase the compensation amount for the families of the deceased to Rs 25 lakh and for the injured to Rs 5 lakh.

    Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who visited Mundka announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. He also directed a magisterial probe into the incident.

    Chairman of the communications department of the Delhi Congress Anil Bhardwaj demanded raising the compensation amount and said that the Delhi government should hold an inquiry as timely action could have saved many lives.

    Party leader Parvez Alam alleged that corruption seemed to have taken place in giving the completion certificate to the building. “If there was no fire clearance, how was the building allowed to function as a commercial hub,” he said.

  • Extremely saddened by loss of lives in Delhi fire tragedy: PM Modi

    “Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Delhi. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Modi said in a tweet.

  • 14 dead as fire engulfs commercial building near Mundka metro station

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A massive fire ripped through a three-storey commercial building near Mundka metro station in west Delhi Friday evening, leaving at least 14 dead and 12 injured, police said.

    Around 60-70 people have been rescued from the building, the police said, adding some people are still trapped inside.

    #UPDATE | 20 bodies recovered in the fire at 3-storey commercial building which broke out this evening near Delhi’s Mundka metro station, confirms Delhi Fire Director Atul Garg https://t.co/wrX7hoaw6I
    — ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2022
    According to fire department officials, information about the blaze was received around 4.40 pm following which 24 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

    “It’s a tragic incident, 14 dead bodies confirmed and 12 people are injured,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Sameer Sharma said around 10 pm.

    The fire broke out in a building near pillar number 544 of the Mundka metro station.

  • 27 killed in commercial building blaze in Delhi’s Mundka

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: As many as 27 people died and 12 got injured as a massive blaze ripped through a four-storey commercial building in outer Delhi’s Mundka on Friday, police said.

    The fire started from the first floor that houses the office of a CCTV cameras and router manufacturing and assembling company, they said, adding more than 30 fire tenders were pressed into service.

    The owners of the company — Harish Goel and Varun Goel — have been detained, police said, adding the building-owner has been identified as Manish Lakra, who lived on the top floor, and that an FIR is being registered against him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

    #UPDATE | 20 bodies recovered in the fire at 3-storey commercial building which broke out this evening near Delhi’s Mundka metro station, confirms Delhi Fire Director Atul Garg https://t.co/wrX7hoaw6I
    — ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2022
    The Delhi Fire Service deployed cranes to rescue those trapped in the blaze.

    However, the smoke from the fire spread to the entire building and some people jumped off through the windows to save themselves, while some others used ropes to climb down, with police saying a few of them got injured in the process.

    The police said at least 27 people were killed and 12 injured in the fire incident. They did not, however, specify other details like the gender or age of the deceased.

    Delhi chief fire service officer Atul Garg said no firefighter was injured in the operation.

    According to the police, a call about the fire was received at 4.45 pm following which they immediately reached the building location, near metro pillar number 545. Police officials broke the windows of the building to rescue people, they said, adding the injured are admitted to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.

    During initial enquiry, the police found that the four-storey building was used for providing office spaces to companies.

    Over 50 employees of the company whose office was located on the first floor were rescued while 27 bodies have been found, they said. Some ambulances were also made available at the spot to provide immediate medical assistance to the rescued victims.

    The fire was “doused” around 11 pm, but cooling operations were underway, said a senior fire department official.

    President Ram Nath Kovind and several political leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi expressed grief at the loss of lives in the incident.

    “Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a tragic fire in Delhi. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Modi said in a tweet. He said Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund will be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives, and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

    Shah said NDRF personnel were reaching the spot for scaling up the rescue operation.

    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed pain over the loss of lives, and said he was in constant touch with officers.

    “Shocked and pained to know abt this tragic incident. I am constantly in touch wid officers. Our brave firemen are trying their best to control the fire and save lives. God bless all,” Kejriwal tweeted.

    Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain visited the spot and took stock of the rescue operations. This is not the first time that Delhi has witnessed such a massive fire incident.

    In December 2019, a blaze at an anaj mandi had claimed at least 44 lives, making it the most severe fire incident in the national capital after the Uphaar Cinema tragedy that claimed 59 lives and left over 100 injured in June, 1997.

    The Uphaar theatre in the posh Green Park area was screening Bollywood film “Border” and several families were there to catch the movie featuring Sunny Deol on its release day — June 13, 1997.

    But the movie outing turned into a mayhem as a massive blaze broke out during the 3 pm show.

    Fourteen years later, a fire broke out at a meeting organised for transgenders at Nand Nagri, where almost 10,000 people had gathered, leaving 14 dead and nearly 30 injured.

    In 2018, another massive fire ripped through a firecracker storage unit at Bawana that left 17 persons, including 10 women, dead.

  • Four dead, 15 injured as fire breaks out in Jammu building

    By PTI

    JAMMU: Four people, including a woman and a child, were killed and 15 others injured after a massive fire broke out in a building here on Monday, police said.

    The fire broke out in the evening in a scrap shop on the ground floor of the building in Residency Road area apparently due to a short circuit.

    Soon the flames engulfed the entire building and some of the LPG cylinders kept inside exploded, said Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Chandan Kohli.

    Jammu and Kashmir | 4 people died and 14 got injured after a fire broke out in a scrap shop around 6.15 pm. Cylinders inside the shop also exploded. Rescue operation underway: Mukesh Singh, ADGP Jammu Zone pic.twitter.com/8Nu4xf1rjj
    — ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2022
    He said three people, including a child, were charred to death in the incident and 15 others were rescued and rushed to the hospital. Another body was recovered later.

    Residents of the building were mostly workers from Assam, the officials said. They said the condition of one of the injured, who had suffered 80 per cent burns, was stated to be critical. The identities of the deceased could not be established immediately, they added.

    A spokesperson of the Fire and Emergency Services Department said they received a call about the fire around 6.10 pm and immediately rushed fire tenders to the spot.

    Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh also rushed to the scene to supervise the firefighting and rescue operation.

    Singh has directed SSP, Jammu to investigate the incident, a police spokesperson said. “Over a dozen families were living in the building. The fire spread very fast, many of the residents could not escape immediately,” said a building resident Anwar Hussain.

    Another survivor, Yasmeena Khatoon, said the building residents lost everything in the fire. “We could not retrieve anything and tried to flee the raging fire,” she said, adding that many of her relatives are either injured or missing after the incident.

    Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha condoled the loss of lives in the fire and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased.

    “My condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for speedy recovery of the injured,” he said in a series of tweets.

    “An ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to be given to the families of the deceased while Rs 1 lakh be given to the seriously injured and Rs 25,000 to those with minor injuries,” he said.

    Sinha also directed the administration to provide all necessary assistance to the affected families.