Fire erupts again in Delhi's Anaj Mandi where 43 people were killed on Sunday

New Delhi, Dec 09: A fire broke out yet again on Monday in the same building in Delhi's congested Anaj Mandi area where a massive blaze killed 43 people and injured dozens of people. Four fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

"It was a small fire. People saw smoke and called Delhi Fire Service. The fire was controlled," the DFS' chief Atul Garg said.

Earlier on Sunday, at least 43 people were killed when a massive fire ripped through a four-storey building housing illegal manufacturing units in north Delhi's congested Anaj Mandi area on Sunday morning, in the second deadliest blaze in the national capital.

Almost all the deceased were migrant labourers hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Police and fire department officials said many of the fatalities occurred due to suffocation as the people were sleeping when the fire started at around 5 am on the second floor of the building that did not have fire safety clearance and was packed with combustible material like cardboards. It took over 150 firefighters nearly five hours to douse the blaze.

As many as 63 people were pulled out of the building. While 43, including one minor, died, 16 were injured. Two fire department personnel were hurt while carrying out rescue work, officials said.

Those awakened by the fire, suspected by officials to have been triggered by a short-circuit, had to struggle to escape as the exit routes were partially blocked and several windows were found sealed.

Police have arrested the property owner Rehan and his manager Furkan and a case has been registered under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire) of the IPC. The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch.

The Delhi government ordered a magisterial probe into the tragedy, the worst fire accident in the national capital since the 1997 Uphaar cinema blaze that claimed 59 lives and sought a report within seven days.