FIRE MAY HAVE STARTED IN RESTAURANT
The fire broke out in the hotel in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar a little before 9am (11.30am, Singapore time), and eight fire tenders were dispatched to douse the blaze, police said in a statement.
The fire was extinguished around midday, a Reuters witness said.
A spokesperson at the state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences told Reuters the hospital had received 13 patients, two of whom were critical.
“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,” local administration official Jitendra Kumar told reporters.
Some reports suggested the hotel had just one door for entry and exit, and lacked proper ventilation.
“An inquiry will be conducted, and anyone who has broken norms and is responsible will be immediately arrested,” Upadhyay said.
The blaze was eventually brought under control with the help of eight fire engines, police said.
“All concerned agencies remain deployed at the spot to ensure every possible assistance to those affected,” the force added.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
Electrical short circuits, often caused by poorly maintained wiring, remain the leading cause of fire incidents in India.
In March, a fire at a government-run hospital in eastern India killed 10 critically ill patients.
The last major fire incident in Delhi killed 43 factory workers sleeping in a building in the city’s old quarter in 2019.