A devastating fire at the Flourish Stay B&B in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, specifically in Hauz Rani, resulted in the deaths of 21 people, including foreigners from Central Asia and Africa who were family members of patients at a nearby hospital. The blaze, reported around 8:48 am on Wednesday, rapidly engulfed the building, trapping many asleep residents and highlighting severe safety lapses, including an alleged illegal expansion of rooms beyond its licensed capacity, basement construction, a single exit, a locked outer gate, sealed windows, and a lack of ventilation, with the fire department also having no record of a fire safety certificate for the premises; while initial reports suggest a short circuit as the cause, a swift rescue operation managed to save approximately 37 individuals, though the grim death toll underscores the tragic consequences of these alleged safety violations.

A devastating fire at the Flourish Stay B&B in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, specifically in Hauz Rani, resulted in the deaths of 21 people, including foreigners from Central Asia and Africa who were family members of patients at a nearby hospital. The blaze, reported around 8:48 am on Wednesday, rapidly engulfed the building, trapping many asleep residents and highlighting severe safety lapses, including an alleged illegal expansion of rooms beyond its licensed capacity, basement construction, a single exit, a locked outer gate, sealed windows, and a lack of ventilation, with the fire department also having no record of a fire safety certificate for the premises; while initial reports suggest a short circuit as the cause, a swift rescue operation managed to save approximately 37 individuals, though the grim death toll underscores the tragic consequences of these alleged safety violations.

A devastating fire at the Flourish Stay B&B in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, specifically in Hauz Rani, resulted in the deaths of 21 people, including foreigners from Central Asia and Africa who were family members of patients at a nearby hospital. The blaze, reported around 8:48 am on Wednesday, rapidly engulfed the building, trapping many asleep residents and highlighting severe safety lapses, including an alleged illegal expansion of rooms beyond its licensed capacity, basement construction, a single exit, a locked outer gate, sealed windows, and a lack of ventilation, with the fire department also having no record of a fire safety certificate for the premises; while initial reports suggest a short circuit as the cause, a swift rescue operation managed to save approximately 37 individuals, though the grim death toll underscores the tragic consequences of these alleged safety violations.

More details continue to emerge regarding the fire at an eatery in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, which killed 21 people, including foreigners. The incident happened at Flourish Stay B&B, a bed and breakfast hotel, in Hauz Rani, on Wednesday morning, according to reports.

Most of the foreigners who died in the blaze were from Central Asia and Africa and were family members of those undergoing treatment at the nearby Max Hospital.

Though the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, local media reports hint that the hotel flouted safety norms. It had a B2B licence only for six rooms, but had over 25 rooms. Some rooms  were built in the basement. 

There was just one exit from the building, and the outer gate of the building was locked.

Massive flames within minutes

DCP South Anant Mittal told reporters that the fire was reported at 8:48 am. Massive flames and smoke engulfed the building within minutes, trapping people. Eyewitnesses reported that the fire was so intense that even those on the third floor began screaming for their lives and jumping from the ceiling.

The fire brigade team rushed to the scene and conducted a rescue operation, successfully rescuing approximately 37 people, although by then 21 people had died in the blaze. It is being reported that the fire started due to a short circuit inside the hotel and quickly spread to a large area.

Most of the lodgers were asleep and may have been unaware of the disaster.

Meanwhile, reports hint that the place lacked basic safety measures. According to Delhi Chief Fire Officer Abhilash Malik, the hotel was like a shaft, with sealed windows and no ventilation. “The fire department had no record of a fire safety certificate being issued to this building," he told reporters.

“We received a call at around 8: 50 am, and at 8:51 am, the Delhi fire service turned out seven fire brigades. Our team commenced the relief and rescue mission immediately. We kept sending more vehicles as we received more and more calls. Six casualties were recovered from the basement first, and as we proceeded, we have rescued 37 people from the building so far. The exact numbers are not yet confirmed," he added.

According to an eyewitness, Wasim Raj, the local people immediately started rescue operations. “We rushed to the spot to see that the entire building was on fire. There is a mattress shop at the corner from where we took out our mattresses and laid them on the road. People started to jump out of the building from the second and third floors. The firefighting team had reached the spot immediately and started rescue work," he added.

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