61 students injured as fire breaks out in building with coaching institutes 2 critical

61 students injured as fire breaks out in building with coaching institutes 2 critical

Building had around 200-250 students when fire broke out, say officials; Delhi Police lodges FIR against unknown persons; many students suffer injuries while using ropes to descend three floors

Two students were critically injured and 59 sustained minor injuries after a fire broke out in a building in north-west Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar on Thursday.

“The two students, who sustained head injuries and fractures, were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital. Their condition is stable. The others were taken to Hindu Rao and Babu Jagjivan Ram hospitals,” said a senior police officer. He added that 11 are undergoing treatment while the others have been discharged from the hospitals.

Short circuit

There were around 200-250 students in the building, which comprises ground plus three floors, at the time of the incident, the officer added. While the ground and third floors house coaching institutes, the remaining space is occupied by commercial offices. The fire is believed to have started due to a short circuit in an electricity meter on the ground floor.

Delhi Fire Service (DFS) chief Atul Garg said they received a call around 12.27 p.m. about a fire at the Gyana Building near Batra Cinema, following which 11 fire tenders and 60 firemen were rushed to the spot. He added that the first fire tender arrived within eight minutes of the call, by when the area residents had rescued some of the students. The remaining were escorted to safety by the firemen.

The ordeal

Many students suffered injuries as they tried to smash open the windows to avoid choking on the dense fumes, while others were hurt in a hurry to descend three floors down to the ground using ropes.

Ginni Rathi, 22, a student at one of the coaching institutes in the building, said, “I was on the third floor when the fire began. I was only thinking about my parents back home in Moradabad. I kept crying for help but nobody came. When it felt like time was running out, I tried to slide down using a rope. Sometime later, I lost my grip on the rope and fell on an AC unit and then to the ground.” She sustained injuries on her back, hands and legs.

The police have filed an FIR against unknown persons under IPC Sections 336 (negligence), 337 (endangering human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

“An inquiry will be conducted against the coaching institutes,” the officer said.

The DFS chief said the building had no firefighting equipment and appeared to have flouted several other safety norms.