Delhi: 5 dead in factory fire at Jhilmil industrial area

New Delhi, July 13: At least five people died in a massive fire at a hardware factory in Delhi's Jhilmil industrial area, said reports. One of the three dead is said to be a women.

The fire broke out at the factory manufacturing household tools and equipment in Shahdara's Jhilmil industrial area around 9 am, according to fire officials.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Meghna Yadav said two women and a man died in the fire. According to the fire officials, the information about the blaze was received at 9.25 am and 31 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

The fire officials said rescue operations were underway and they were trying to ascertain if more persons were trapped in the building. In January last year, 17 people -- 10 women and seven men -- were killed in a massive blaze at a firecracker storage unit in outer Delhi's Bawana industrial area.

On July 5, a fire broke out on the sixth floor of the Directorate General of Health Services's (DGHS) building housing office in east Delhi's Karkardooma area.

In February, a massive fire at a hotel in Karol Bagh claimed 17 lives. As many as 17 people were killed, including three Myanmar nationals, and three sustained injuries. The owner of Hotel Arpit Palace, RK Goel, after the arrest, told police that the building plan for the establishment was not approved by the municipal corporation and that he was using the basement to run a banquet hall. RK Goel was nabbed by the crime branch of Delhi Police on February 17, after he arrived in Delhi from Qatar.