At least 17 people died on Tuesday as a fire tore through a budget hotel in Delhi before dawn, in the latest disaster to raise concerns over fire safety in India.<\/p>\n
The fire broke out at the Hotel Arpit Palace in a congested part of central Delhi, with images showing it engulfing the entire top floor.<\/p>\n
“We have confirmed with hospital authorities, the toll is now 17 including a child,” Sunil Choudhary, a fire brigade official, told AFP.<\/p>\n
Local media reports said the woman and the child died as they tried to escape by jumping from a window.<\/p>\n
G.C. Misra, Delhi fire brigade director, said the blaze had been brought under control and that 35 people were rescued by firefighters in an operation lasting several hours.<\/p>\n
“There was wooden panelling on corridors because of which people could not use corridors to evacuate,” another fire officer told reporters.<\/p>\n
Images showed thick smoke and flames billowing out of the top floor of four-storey hotel, popular with budget travellers.<\/p>\n
Police said they were investigating the cause.<\/p>\n
The blaze was extinguished in the early hours with the help of at least 25 fire engines, with the top floors being gutted.<\/p>\n
Fires are common across India because of poor safety standards and lax enforcement of regulations.<\/p>\n
Activists say builders and landlords often cut corners on safety to save costs and have accused civic authorities of negligence and apathy.<\/p>\n
Fire disasters are particularly frequent in Mumbai, India’s financial capital where millions live in cramped and dilapidated properties because of high rents.<\/p>\n
In December, eight people were killed when a fire engulfed a hospital in Mumbai.<\/p>\n
In 2017, 14 people were killed, also in Mumbai, when a huge blaze tore through a popular restaurant.<\/p>\n
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