At least 21 people have been killed and more than 40 injured when fire ripped through a hotel in Delhi, police say, in one of the deadliest blazes in the Indian capital in recent years.
The building, in the city’s southern suburb of Malviya Nagar neighbourhood, had a restaurant on the ground floor and a bed and breakfast hotel above.
Several people jumped out of the burning building to escape the flames, witnesses said, with residents dragging mattresses from a nearby store to try to break their fall.
“People spread mattresses, and a woman from the third floor jumped on it with a little kid,” witness Sher Khan told Reuters.
Images from the scene showed firefighters trying to douse the blaze as thick smoke billowed from the building.
Local residents also joined emergency services, helping evacuate people trapped inside and carrying some of the injured to safety.
Firefighters battle the blaze at a hotel in Delhi. (AP: Manish Swarup)
More than 40 people were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals, Delhi police said in a statement.
“It is with profound sorrow that 21 persons have been declared dead in this tragic incident,” the statement said.
Eight were in a critical condition, according to a statement by a nearby hospital where several of the injured were taken.
Several of the people who died were foreigners, mainly from Central Asia and Africa, according to the Press Trust of India.
India’s foreign ministry said it had been in touch with the embassies of the citizens affected.
The ministry “remains in close touch with the concerned embassies and is extending all necessary assistance,” junior foreign minister Kirti Vardhan Singh said on X.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
A family hangs from a hotel window as fire engulfs the building in New Delhi. (AP: Manish Swarup)
“An inquiry will be conducted, and anyone who has broken norms and is responsible will be immediately arrested,” local politician Satish Upadhyay said.
Some of the victims were foreign nationals who had travelled to India for medical treatment, local media has reported.
Many foreign patients travel to New Delhi for medical treatment and often stay in nearby hotels or residential accommodation during their visits.
Firefighters and police officers inspect the site after the fire. (Reuters: Adnan Abidi)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the tragedy.
“Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected,” he posted on X, saying the families of those killed would receive financial compensation.
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.
AP/Reuters/AFP
