'Extremely heartbreaking' President Murmu on loss of lives in Delhi building fire

New Delhi, May 3 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said that the loss of lives in Delhi fire accident is extremely heartbreaking and offered deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
     A massive fire ripped through a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people from two families, including a toddler, dead, officials said.
     "The news of the loss of lives due to a fire in Shahdara, Delhi is extremely heartbreaking. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of those who have been injured," Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi.
     The fire broke out around 3:50 am in a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I under Shahdara district, and rapidly spread from the rear portion, engulfing flats from the first to the fourth floors and trapping residents inside as thick smoke filled the structure.
    A preliminary inquiry suggests that the blaze may have originated due to an air-conditioner blast on a lower floor, with strong winds intensifying the flames, a police officer said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)