Delhi hotel fire: Death toll rises to 22 as Nigerian national dies
The death toll in the Malviya Nagar hotel fire has climbed to 22 after another foreign national, a Nigerian citizen, succumbed to injuries during treatment, Delhi Police confirmed on Sunday. Out of the 22 dead, 13 are foreign nationals, and nine are Indian citizens, making the June 3 blaze at Flourish Stay in Hauz Rani the deadliest hotel fire in Delhi in recent memory.
The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier confirmed that among the foreign nationals killed were four from Nigeria, three from Kyrgyzstan, and one each from Mozambique, Liberia, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Congo, and Iraq. The latest death, a Nigerian national, adds to the Nigerian toll from the fire and brings the overall count to 22.
The MEA also confirmed that around 22 foreign nationals had been injured in the incident, with Indian authorities in touch with the concerned embassies and facilitating necessary assistance, including documentation and medical support.
The fire broke out on the morning of June 3 at Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast facility in the narrow lanes of Hauz Rani, a congested locality in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar. The Delhi Fire Service received information about the blaze at around 9 am. More than 40 people were rescued and rushed to the hospital, where 21 were initially declared dead. Several occupants, with no route of escape through the building’s single staircase, which was choked with smoke, jumped from upper floors as locals spread mattresses on the road below in a desperate attempt to break their fall.
The building had been operating in a web of violations. Licensed for only six rooms under Delhi’s bed-and-breakfast scheme, it was allegedly running 25 rooms, including accommodation in the basement. It had no valid fire safety clearance, only one entry and exit point, and sealed windows. Additional floors had been built over the years without informing authorities or obtaining any structural or fire safety approval.
