The National Museum of Natural History, located in Mandi House, New Delhi, was gutted in a major fire in the early hours of Tuesday.
The six-storey museum is located in the same premises as the FICCI, which escaped the blaze.There was almost no one inside at the time of the blaze. However, two firefighters suffered burns during the dousing operation. They have been admitted to a hospital.
The blaze began on one of the upper floors of the museum. "We received a call at 1.45 a.m. Initially we sent six fire tenders. Since the fire turned out to be massive, more than 40 fire tenders were required to fight the blaze," said Atul Garg, Additional Director, Delhi Fire Services.
By the time the blaze was controlled, only the ground and first floors of the building survived. "The museum has been destroyed," Mr. Garg told The Hindu.
The cause of the fire is being probed by the police.
