Fire fighters douse a fire broke which out at the cloth market at Gandhi Nagar, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Oct 5, 2022. (PTI Photo) A 19-year-old youth died in the Wednesday’s Gandhi Nagar textile market fire in Delhi after he got trapped inside the shop, said officials Thursday. The charred body of the youngster was found by a team of Delhi Fire Services (DFS) on the second floor of a four-storey shop during an inspection of the site Thursday.
The deceased has been identified as Shahnawaz, who worked at the shop. A forensic team will conduct further investigation.
A major fire broke out inside a shop in Gandhi Nagar market Wednesday evening, and it soon spread to other shops. The DFS rushed with 35 fire tenders as there was no water source near the shops. The fire brigade worked for hours to douse the raging flames.
Atul Garg, DFS Chief, said, “More than 150 personnel were deployed at the site and worked for hours to control the fire. Major challenges for us were the narrow lanes and the non-availability of water sources.”
Firemen managed to douse the fire after six hours and completed the operation.
R. Sathiyasundaram, DCP (Shahdara) said, “One of the shop workers, Aftab (32) told us he had closed his employer’s shop at 5.15 pm and went for a walk with other workers. Ten minutes later, they came back and saw smoke coming out of the shop. He found that his brother Shahnawaz was inside the shop as he was screaming and knocking on the door. The men tried to break locks but the fire was rapidly spreading. When they managed to break the lock, he couldn’t find his brother.”
Sources said a short circuit led to the fire. As most of the shops in the area are garment shops, the fire spread very fast.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted Wednesday about the incident saying he was in touch with the district administration and was taking stock of the situation.