Delhi: Child among 16 killed in fire outbreak at Karol Bagh hotel

New Delhi : Massive fire outbreak at Hotel Arpit Palace in Delhi’s Karol Bagh area this early morning killed at least sixteen people including a woman and a child. 13 dead bodies are at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital. Five including one dead and four injured have been taken to lady Hardinge medical college.

The fire broke out at around 4 am when the capital city was sleeping. Video recorded on cellphones by eye-witnesses showed huge flames crowning the terrace of the large, white building. A person is seen dangling from the terrace and then jumping off.

At least 25 fire tenders responded to a call at 4.30 am this morning to conduct rescue operations. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the death toll could further rise. 

The three-storey hotel, which had 35 rooms, was completely booked by a family which was in Delhi for a function, Garg added.

Earlier, nine people were reported dead, but now, the death toll seems rising. For now, the fire has been brought under control. Investigation is underway to dig out the cause of sudden fire break out.

Thirty-five people were rescued and those injured were taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Most of the deaths took place due to suffocation, the police said.

Few days back, devastating fire broke out in the ICU of Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute at Noida Sector 12. According to officials, 66 patients were in the hospital, including 16 in the ICU, when the fire broke out around noon. No one was seriously injured and all the patients were evacuated, with most transferred to the hospital’s branch in Sector 11, a few hundred metres away.