Bawana factory fire claims 17 lives; co-owner held as Kejriwal orders probe

CM Kejriwal announced ex-gratia of Rs 500,000 to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 100,000 to the injured

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday ordered a thorough probe into the Bawana firecracker storage unit fire incident that claimed at least 17 lives and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 500,000 to the next of the kin of the deceased. 
 

As many as 17 people, including 10 women, were burnt alive or asphyxiated and 30 others injured in a fire at a plastic warehouse in west Delhi's Bawana on Saturday evening, officials said.
 

Kejriwal said in a tweet:

The Chief Minister said the injured will get an ex-gratia of Rs 100,000 and said the matter will be fully probed on how the licence was given, who gave the licence, and how the incident happened.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari also announced compensation of Rs 50,000 to the victims of the incident.

The police said an FIR has been registered. An investigation is on to ascertain the cause of the blaze, they said.

Cause of the fire unknown 
 

Fire fighters carry a body of a victim of fire at a factory in Bawana industrial area in northwest Delhi

"Police, as well as fire brigade and ambulances, were rushed to F-83 in Sector 5 of Bawana Industrial Area. The cause of the fire is not yet known," Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Gupta said.

The Delhi Fire Services received a call about the fire at the factory around 6.20 pm and 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, the fire department said, adding the blaze has been brought under control.
 

A man who jumped from the second floor of the building in a bid to save himself later succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

The victims were trapped in the basement, first and second floors when the fire spread from the basement to the floors above, the police officer said.
 

The bodies have been kept in a mortuary for identification. The relatives of some of the deceased and the injured have been informed, he added.

G C Mishra, director, Delhi Fire Service, said the building comprised a basement, ground floor, and two upper floors.

A wailing relative mourns death of a victim at a hospital after a two-storey cracker factory

"One body was recovered from the basement, three from the ground floor and 13 from the first floor. One person sustained fractures after he jumped from the second floor to save himself," he said.

Mishra said the fire was doused by 9.20 pm but search and rescue operations were underway. "We are taking no chance. We don't have a definite number of people who were in the building when the fire broke out," he said.

The police said the people were either charred or got choked to death.
 

North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

"The factory falls in the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) area," a senior NDMC official said.

The medical superintendent of Dr Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Hospital said, "We have received a disaster alert and we are prepared to handle the rush of injured patients.

One apprehended; FIR registered
 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visits cracker factory

Gupta also said that the police has apprehended Manoj Jain. According to police, the factory was owned by two persons, Jain and Lalit Goel.

"It is to be verified whether they are the owners or have taken the premises on rent," Gupta said.
 

Gupta also said that as per an injured labourer of the factory, packing was being done in the factory. "The crackers used to come from outside," he said.
 

Jain told police that he was running the factory alone and had taken it on rent.

The police had said that an FIR has been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible material. The maximum punishment under section 304 is 10 years.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal met families of those killed in the Bawana factory fire at BR Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini.

Health Minister Satyendra Jain, who accompanied the LG, said autopsies were conducted only on the bodies that had been identified.
 

PM Modi, President Kovind express anguish

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the death of people in the fire. The Prime Minister's Office tweeted quoting Modi:
 

President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted:


Union Minister Harsh Vardhan, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta and North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Preety Agarwal also reached the spot.
 

Harsh Vardhan expressed his condolences in a tweet: 

He also said that the government should "enforce strict safety regulations to such hazardous industries" to avoid at least future accidents.