5 Bangladeshis hurt in Delhi hotel blaze

At least five Bangladeshis were injured, while one is feared dead after a hotel fire in New Delhi yesterday killed at least 21, mostly foreigners.

“So far, five Bangladeshi nationals have been injured in the fire incident. Three are receiving treatment in Max Hospital in Saket; and two more are receiving treatment at Safdarjung Hospital,” said the Bangladesh High Commission in a statement.

“The condition of three Bangladeshis is critical.  cThey have been taken to the ICU,” an official of the Bangladesh High Commission told this correspondent.

He added that the missing Bangladeshi was feared to be dead.

The official said there was a total of 13 Bangladeshis of three families living in the rented multi-storey building in Malviya Nagar, Delhi.

Their identities could not be known as of last night.

The high commission said it is in constant contact with the authorities and is closely monitoring the condition of the Bangladeshis.

The fire broke out around 9:00am at Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast in a congested neighbourhood in the south of the city, Delhi Police said in a statement.

“It is with profound sorrow that 21 persons have been declared dead in this tragic incident,” it added.

Several of those killed were foreigners, mainly from Central Asia and Africa, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting unnamed officials.

Many of them had come to the city for medical treatment, according to local media reports.

Authorities said more than 40 people were taken to hospitals for treatment. Eight were in a critical condition.

Indian television channels showed flames leaping from the building and thick plumes of black smoke rising into the sky.

Some 47 guests were in the hotel when the fire broke out, local lawmaker Satish Upadhyay told reporters.

Witnesses said several people jumped from the burning building onto mattresses laid out by locals to escape the flames.

Local people who helped in the initial rescue said the fire broke out on the ground and first floors of ​the four-storey building, trapping those on higher floors.

Eight fire engines were dispatched to douse the blaze, and it was extinguished around midday, police said.

“There was reportedly a restaurant operating on the ground floor of the building ... It is most likely that the fire was connected to ⁠that ​restaurant,” a local administration official told reporters.

Meanwhile, police yesterday arrested the hotel owner, Lavkesh Bajaj.

Police said the hotel violated building regulations and had illegally constructed nearly three times the permitted number of rooms, contributing to the high death toll. Officials suspect nearly 25 rooms were in use instead of the permitted six.

Reports indicate the building had only one common entry and exit point, which may have hampered evacuation as the fire spread rapidly.