A devastating fire has claimed the lives of 17 people including that of a child in a hotel in Delhi’s congested Karol Bagh region. The fire broke out in the wee hours of the morning around 4 a.m. at Hotel Arpit Palace when most of the guests were sleeping. A woman and her child jumped to death from a window to escape the fire. Most of the deaths have been attributed to suffocation, according to police.
While more than two dozen fire engines were rushed to the spot, eyewitness accounts report that the fire was brought under control around seven in the morning.
The top levels of the six-storeyed building were seen engulfed in flames. A man was seen hanging from the terrace before jumping off it, in a video recording made by an eyewitness.
There were 150 guests present in the hotel when the fire broke out. Many of the guests in the hotel were from Myanmar who were in the city to attend a function. Of the 35 people who were rescued, the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.
As per initial reports, the top kitchen and the top level of the hotel were illegally constructed. Delhi minister Satyendra Jain has stated that the hotel had ‘clearance for only four floors’. Adding that ‘strict action’ will be taken against the guilty, the minister said that a magisterial enquiry has also been initiated.
