Fire kills five IndiaMART executives in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad, May 14: At least five people were killed and six injured after a major fire broke out in an office of IndiaMART, an online marketplace firm, in Raj Nagar area of Ghaziabad on Saturday.

According to police, the fire broke out at 10.30 a.m. in a residential building in Raj Nagar where commercial activities were being carried out by IndiaMART and two other companies.

The fire broke out on the ground floor and soon reached the first floor where IndiaMART executives were busy in their telemarketing job.

The executives were trapped on the first floor as the fire blocked the only passage to the ground floor. In an attempt to escape, two executives broke open a window and jumped.

One of the two, identified as Piyush Goel, fell headlong and died on the spot.

"We rushed to the spot after we received an alarm and rescued about a dozen executives. We rushed five fire tenders and controlled the fire. With the help of civil defence staff we rushed the injured to nearby Gargi Hospital," said Fire Safety Officer R.K. Yadav.

Two people were declared brought dead to the hospital. The deceased were identified as Chandra Prakash Tyagi and Puneet Mishra. "Both died due to suffocation," said a doctor.

Two executives who were rushed to the MMG District Hospital were also declared brought dead. They were identified as Ritik and Hemant.

"We shall conduct an inquiry into the incident to ascertain why commercial activities were being conducted against the land use policy," said Ravendra Godbole, the acting vice chairman of Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).

IANS