Two workers were killed in a fire that broke out at a footwear manufacturing unit in outer Delhi’s Narela in the early hours of Saturday, the police said.
Vinay, 30, and Kuldeep, 25, died of asphyxiation as they were unable to escape from the burning building, they added.
Eight fire tenders were rushed to the factory and doused the fire within two hours. However, more fire tenders were called in for the cooling operation.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said that a case has been registered at the Narela police station under Sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 304A (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code.
‘Unit had proper papers’
The cause of the fire, which broke out around 2.30 a.m., is yet to be ascertained but preliminary investigation point to a short-circuit, the police said. Mr. Gupta added that the factory had all valid documents and licenses needed for operation.
The factory, located in the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation industrial area next to Bhorgarh in Narela manufactures plastic footwear items on the ground floor and stores the packing material on the first floor.
“Vinay worked as a guard at the factory and slept on the first floor. His distant relative, Kuldeep, worked in a factory nearby. He would spend his night with Vinay. The two men were from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh,” a police officer said.
The police were alerted about the incident after locals spotted flames emanating from the top floor of the building. Labourers working in adjacent factories called the fire department.
“By the time we broke open the door and brought the men out, they were unconscious. They were taken to nearby hospital where doctors declared them brought dead. The bodies were handed over to their relatives after post-mortem,” the police officer added.
Though the police have not ruled out foul play in the deaths, they said that initial probe has indicated it was an accident.
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