NEW DELHI: Four factory workers, including two juveniles, died after a fire broke out in a shoe manufacturing unit in
Sultanpuri of outer Delhi in the third such incident this year. There were around 50
workers inside the building at the time of the incident.
At 6.40am on Monday, Delhi fire department officers were informed about the incident at A-197, four-storey building in Raj Park Colony. Ten fire tenders were sent to the spot and the blaze was doused after approximately 90 minutes.
During the cooling operations, fire fighters recovered four bodies, later identified as Mohommad Razi (20), Mohommad Shamu (17), Mehbub Waris (18) and Ayub (17). The four victims were neighbours in Asmada village in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh. Waris and Ayub were brothers.
Confirming the incident, DCP (outer) MN Tiwari said that a case of negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter and causing death due to negligence has been registered. The owner of the factory, Brajesh Gupta (45) has been arrested.
A preliminary probe has revealed that the fire started from the ground floor of the building which is surrounded by residential complexes from all sides. The unit was involved in moulding and pasting of shoe tops and 50-60 people worked in it. It is suspected that the fire started due to a short circuit and spread into the chemical canisters lying nearby.
Cops also found many small LPG cylinders used by the workers for cooking. It is being checked if the fire started due to a gas leak.
Police and eyewitnesses said that work in the factory continued till 2am on Monday after which the workers went on to sleep on the first, second and third floors of the building.
Around 6.30am, some of the workers noticed smoke coming from the staircase and found that a blaze had started on the ground floor. The panicked workers started shouting for help from the windows. Neighbours heard the cries and alerted the emergency services before coming down to help the
trapped workers.
“The fire was near the main gate of the building, which was locked from outside,” said Ravinder Kumar, who lives in the adjacent building. The neighbours used ladders, broke the windows and put mattresses in an empty plot to allow the trapped workers to jump down and save their lives.
By the time the fire tenders arrived, most of the workers had managed to escape. Later, cops found four bodies on the first floor near the door. One of the victims had suffered extensive burn injuries while trying to open the door lock, while the three others had died due to asphyxiation.
The bodies were taken to Sanjay Gandhi hospital. They will be handed over to the family members after autopsy on Tuesday.
