Two men were killed after a massive fire broke out in a footwear manufacturing factory in Outer Delhi’s Narela area on the early hours of Saturday.
According to police, the deceased have been identified as 30 year old Vinay and 25 year old Kuldeep. Police suspect that the two men died to suffocation since they were not able to escape from the building as they were sleeping. A senior fire official said, “There were no eyewitnesses, but it is likely that the two men woke up from their sleep only after the fire had spread.”
Police said that a case has been registered under sections 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 304 A (causing death due to negligence) at the Narela police station.
Earlier this year, 17 factory workers were killed in flames after a massive fire broke in a cracker manufacturing unit in the Bawana Industrial area. While the factory in Bawana was being run without any legal formality, senior police officers said that the Narela factory was running legally.
In the Bawana mishap, the building allegedly had only one exit route because of which the people inside found themselves trapped and charred to death.
Police said that the latest deaths occurred at around 2.30 am in the DSIIDC (Delhi state Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation) industrial area, located next to Bhorgarh in Narela. The factory 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. He slept on the first floor. His distant relative, Kuldeep, worked in another factory nearby. He too would spend his night here itself,” said a labourer who knew the duo but refused to reveal his identity. The two men were natives of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh,” said a senior police officer.
Meanwhile, a senior Delhi Fire Service official said that It was only when the locals saw flames emanating from the top floor of the building that they called the fire department that dispatched eight fire tenders to the factory.
“By the time we broke open the door and brought the men out, they were already motionless. The deaths occurred due to inhaling the smoke,” said a fire officer, adding the packing material was inflammable and caused the fire to spread rapidly.
Though police have not ruled out foul play in the deaths, they said the initial probe has indicated it was an accident.