At least 43 killed as fire rips through Delhi factory while workers slept
- About 60 people, including casualties, were taken out of the buildings, police said
- Many of the men in the factory were migrant workers from the impoverished border state of Bihar in eastern India, relatives said
About 60 people, including workers, were present in the four-storey building near Sadar Bazaar, New Delhi’s largest wholesale market for household goods, when the fire broke out on the second floor, where many of them were sleeping.
Assistant New Delhi police commissioner Anil Kumar Mittal said the fire appeared to have been caused by an electrical short circuit, adding that authorities were investigating whether the factory was operating legally.
The building’s owner, Rihan, who goes by one name, was detained on suspicion of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Mittal said.
A resident of the area, Mohammed Naushad, said he was woken by people wailing at around 4.30am. He went outside to find smoke and flames shooting out of the factory.
Inside, he found the fourth floor engulfed in flames. One floor below, he saw “20 to 25 people lying on the floor”.