43 laborers killed in New Delhi factory fire

NEW DELHI－At least 43 people died on Sunday in a devastating fire at a building in a crowded grain market area in central New Delhi, police said.

Firefighters fought the blaze from 100 meters away because it broke out in one of the area's many alleyways, tangled in electrical wire and too narrow for vehicles to access, authorities at the scene said.

The fire started at a factory space near Sadar Bazaar, New Delhi's largest wholesale market for household goods. Many of the victims were factory workers who were asleep when the blaze began, according to Yogesh, a police spokesman who uses one name. Police are investigating whether the factory was operating legally, he said.

Kishore Singh, a doctor at the scene, said rescuers brought victims to his government-run hospital and two others in the city. Another 16 people were being treated for burns or smoke inhalation and were in stable condition, Singh said.

Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the blaze was put out by 25 fire trucks and that the rescue operation was completed. About 60 people, including casualties, were taken out of the building, according to police spokesman Arun Kumar Mittal.

The laborers were engaged in making school bags and packing boxes using plastic material and paper. They worked inside the building during the day and slept there at night, eyewitnesses said. They earned as little as 150 rupees ($2.1) per day, relatives said.

The cause of the fire, which erupted at around 5:30 am, was not immediately clear. But an eyewitness told a TV channel that the fire broke out due to a short circuit.

Distraught people

Many factories and small manufacturing units in big Indian cities are located in old, cramped quarters of the cities, where the cost of land is relatively cheap.

Such units often also serve as sleeping quarters for poor, mostly migrant laborers and workers, who manage to save money by sleeping overnight at their workplaces.

Distraught people appeared at the site of the blaze and at the three hospitals.

The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Manoj, who uses one name, as saying that his 18-year-old brother Naveen was working in a handbag manufacturing unit in the building.

"I got a call from his friend informing that he has been injured in the incident. I have no clue which hospital he has been taken to," he said.

New Delhi's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, also appeared at the scene of the fire, promising victims' families compensation.

Manoj Tiwari, a Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker from New Delhi, said most of the casualties occurred on the third floor of the building.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the fire as "extremely horrific".

"My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. Wishing the injured a quick recovery," Modi tweeted. Authorities are providing all possible assistance at the site of the tragedy, he said.

Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.

In 1997, a fire in a movie theater in New Delhi killed 59 people. In February this year, 17 people were killed by a fire in a six-story hotel in the Indian capital that started in an illegal rooftop kitchen.