New Delhi: A four storied building was caught fire in Anaj Mandi area on Sunday, 43 persons died in the incident. It is a worst fire accident since 1997 Upahar Cinema tragedy in Delhi.

   In Anaj Mandi area a four storied building housing an illegal manufacturing unit in North Delhi’s congested area. As per the police and fire department sources most of the causalities were due to suffocation as many people were sleeping when the fire started at around 5 am on the second floor of the building. In that building there is no fire safety clearance. Those awakened by the fire, suspected by officials to have been triggered by a short circuit due to internal system. Trouble, had to struggle to escape as the exit routes were partially blocked and many windows were found sealed.  

   The building has no proper ventilation, most of the people died due to asphyxia. NDRF Deputy Commissioner Aditya Pratap Singh said they had detected Carbon Monoxide (CO) in the building. The entire third and fourth floors were engulfed with smoke. The content of CO was more, when his teams started operations, it found some windows sealed, he said. Chaotic scenes were seen at the site clogged with by-standers and politicians arriving in convoys.

Fire men made their way through narrow lanes to rescue those trapped inside the black ended building and carried many unconscious laborers on their backs. At the hospitals were the dead and injured were taken L.N.J.P Hospital and Lady Hardinge Hospital distraught relatives had hard time finding their family members.  

   The Delhi police arrested the owner of the building along with his manager along with the connection with the Anaj Mandi fire accident on Sunday.