Fire

Probe of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades starts evidence hearings

An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades on Thursday heard that a series of failures contributed to the blaze's burning seven buildings and killing 168 people as it opened its first hearing on the evidence. Former residents and relatives of the dead have been waiting for answers since November 2025, when the fire shattered the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban district of Tai Po. In his opening remarks, the committee's lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the fire is suspected to have started at a platform in a light well outside two low-level units, noting that cigarette butts were found there and on scaffolding. Dawes said the evidence showed that multiple factors came together to produce the disaster, ranging from fire alarms and hose systems being shut off to the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting and covering windows with foam boards. "On the day of the fire, nearly all

Odisha govt suspends four officials over SCB Medical College fire tragedy

Disciplinary action follows preliminary findings of lapses after fire at SCB Medical College in Cuttack that killed 12; judicial probe also ordered

Watch: 9 dead in massive fire at building in Delhi's Palam

Nine members of a family, including three children, died after a fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in southwest Delhi's Palam area on Wednesday morning, officials said.

10 patients dead in fire at Odisha's Medical College, PM expresses grief

A fire in the ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack killed 10 patients and injured 16 others, including staff. Odisha ordered a judicial probe as President Murmu, PM Modi expressed grief

10 dead, 11 injured in massive fire at Odisha's SCB Medical College

Ten people were killed after a major fire erupted in an ICU in Odisha government-run SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack in the wee hours of Monday, officials said. Around 11 hospital staff members suffered burn injuries while rescuing patients to safety. The fire erupted at the ICU of the Trauma Care department of the hospital, where critically ill patients were being treated, an official said, adding that the fire broke out at around 2.30 and 3 am. Fire service personnel rushed to the hospital and doused the fire after launching an operation, the official said. The fire service officials, along with hospital staff and police, along with patients' attendants, rescued the patients undergoing treatment at the ICU and shifted them to other departments of the SCB hospital, which is a major state-run medical facility in Odisha. Soon after getting the news, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, along with Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling, visited the hospital and reviewed th

Fire breaks out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi, nearly 50 shops gutted

A major fire broke out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi's Andheria Mor area on Sunday morning, gutting around 50 shops and triggering a massive firefighting operation, an official of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said. According to the DFS, a call regarding the blaze was received at 7.37 am, following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the flames. No injury to anyone has been reported so far. The fire erupted at the Nature Bazaar market located near Andheria Mor in the Lado Sarai area, where several temporary and semi-permanent shops selling handicrafts and other items are set up, he said. Thick plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the market complex as the fire rapidly spread through multiple shops in the crowded marketplace. Firefighters launched an extensive operation to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further. Around 50 shops were gutted in the incident, causing heavy damage to goods and structures, the officer said. Fire personnel wer

Drone attack triggers fire, suspends some operations at UAE's Fujairah port

A drone attack triggered a fire and forced suspension of some oil loading operations at the UAE's Fujairah port, located just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments

Fire breaks out at fish market in Delhi's Uttam Nagar, damages nearby slums

Delhi Fire Service reported that the fire destroyed approximately 300 to 400 slums. The cause of the fire is still unclear

Rajasthan govt announces ₹3 lakh aid for victims of Bhiwadi fire tragedy

Seven people were burnt alive and two were critically injured in an illegal firecracker-manufacturing factory in the Bhiwadi town of Rajasthan's Khairthal-Tijara district on Monday, officials said. The incident occurred in the Khushkhera-Karoli industrial area in Bhiwadi. Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma announced Rs 3 lakh financial aid for each of the family of the seven deceased. In a post on X, he said, "In this hour of grief, the state government stands in complete solidarity with the bereaved families. Instructions have been issued to provide financial assistance of Rs 3 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the dependents of the deceased." "Seven persons have died in the incident. It was a garment factory but firecrackers were being manufactured inside it illegally," Sumitra Pareek, Additional District Magistrate, said. She said that two people trapped in the factory were rescued. They were admitted to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital in a critical condition. Earlier, ...

PM Modi, V-P condole deaths of 7 workers in Rajasthan Bhiwadi factory fire

Seven workers were burnt alive when a fire broke out in a chemical factory in Rajasthan's Bhiwadi town on Monday, officials said. Two workers remain trapped inside the unit. The fire broke out in Bhiwadi's Khushkhera-Karoli industrial area. Additional District Magistrate Sumita Mishra said police came to know about the incident during a routine patrol following which a rescue operation was launched immediately. "Nine people were trapped inside. Seven bodies have been taken out so far," she said, adding that frenetic efforts were underway to rescue the remaining two workers.

Series of fires in Karachi raise alarm, authorities probe foul play

A spate of fire incidents in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi, following last month's deadly Gul Plaza shopping mall blaze, has raised alarm among authorities, who are also examining the possibility of foul play, officials said on Saturday. At least five fire outbreaks were reported from different parts of the city on Friday, while an explosion damaged a pipeline of a main water pumping station in Dhabeji, disrupting water supply to millions of residents. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zubair Nazir Sheikh said law enforcement agencies and fire service officials were closely monitoring the situation and probing the causes of the fires, including the possibility of foul play. The renewed concern follows the January 17 inferno at the Gul Plaza shopping mall in the Saddar commercial area, which completely gutted the building and claimed at least 79 lives. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, while a week-long rescue operation led to the recovery of dozens of bodie

Massive fire at Kolkata warehouses kills 8, rescue ops underway

At least eight people were killed and several others went missing after a fire erupted in two adjoining warehouses in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Monday, police said. The blaze in the twin units in the Najirabad area within Narendrapur police station limits, on the outskirts of Kolkata, was brought under control after a seven-hour firefight. However, pockets of fire in certain parts still raged, a senior police officer said. While three badly charred bodies were recovered around 5 pm during a search operation in the adjacent godowns, five more bodies were discovered later, the officer said. Baruipur police district SP Shubhendu Kumar said the identity of the eight deceased could not be ascertained as the bodies were charred beyond recognition. "Whether more people were trapped and killed in the blaze will be known only after the debris is completely cleared and the pockets of fire are completely put out by the fire brigade", he said. Initially, six people were repo

One killed, 14 injured in gas explosion at NYC apartment building

A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said. Firefighters responded shortly before 12:30 am to the 17-story building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said. Chief of Department John Esposito said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odour on the 15th and 16th floors when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors. Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died. Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said. Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations, and work on the natur

Fire erupts in Seoul's last-remaining shanty town, no casualties reported

A fire on Friday in one of Seoul's last-remaining shanty towns burned makeshift houses and forced dozens of residents to flee, but no casualties were immediately reported. Much of the fire was under control about 6 1/2 hours after the blaze broke out in Guryong village in southern Seoul, fire officials said. Local fire officer Jeong Gwang-hun told a televised briefing that rescuers were searching each house in the burned area to look for possible victims. More than 1,200 personnel including firefighters and police officers were deployed to the scene, he said, adding the cause of the fire was under investigation. The hillside village has occasionally had fires over the years, a vulnerability that observers say is linked to its tightly packed homes built with materials that easily burn. The village is located near some of Seoul's most expensive neighbourhoods, with towering high-rise apartments and lavish shopping districts, and has long been a symbol of South Korea's stark income .

Swiss ski resort fire kills 40, over 100 injured: What sparked the blaze?

At least 40 people were killed and over 100 were injured after a fire swept through a Swiss ski resort on New Year's Day. Officials are probing the cause of the incident

Goa nightclub fire: Co-owner Ajay Gupta files bail plea in Mapusa court

Ajay Gupta, one of the four co-owners of 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in Goa, where 25 persons were killed in a fire earlier this month, on Thursday filed a bail application in a court in Mapusa town. Gupta was arrested in New Delhi by the Goa Police on December 10, following which a court in Mapusa remanded him in police custody for seven days. Twenty-five persons, including 20 staff members and five tourists, were killed in the major blaze at the nightclub at Arpora in North Goa around midnight of December 6. Gupta, who is currently in the custody of the Anjuna police, applied for bail before the District Judge in Mapusa. Senior lawyer Rohan Desai will represent him. The court is likely to hear the bail application later in the day, and notices will be issued to the state police seeking their response. So far, eight persons have been arrested in connection with the case, including Gupta, and two other owners - Gaurav Luthra and his brother Saurabh - who were deported from ...

Goa nightclub fire: HC turns civil suit into PIL, seeks accountability

The Goa bench of Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against Birch by Romeo Lane at Arpora, where a devastating fire on December 6 killed 25 persons, into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) observing "someone has to be held accountable in such kind of cases". The HC also asked the state government to file a reply on permissions granted to the ill-fated nightclub. The petition was filed by Pradeep Ghadi Amonkar and Sunil Divkar, owners of the land on which the nightclub stood. Converting it into a PIL, the division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and Prithviraj Chavan said "someone has to be held accountable in such kind of cases". It observed that the local panchayat had failed to take suo motu cognisance of the club and had taken no action despite complaints. Commercial operations were going in the structure despite it being served a demolition order, the HC bench pointed out. Advocate Rohit Bras de Sa, the lawyer representing Amonkar and Divkar, was made amicus .

From IndiGo to Indigo: How the escape plan of Luthra brothers collapsed

The incident left twenty-five people dead and six others injured during a musical event that had drawn nearly a hundred guests, many of them tourists

Goa nightclub fire incident exposes EPFO's compliance failure: Officers

EPFOA alleges that the nightclub's EPF-registered entity, M/s Being GS Hospitality Goa Arpora LLP, never deposited provident fund dues since its coverage

Guwahati fire remains untamed for over 33 hrs, multiple agencies struggle

A massive fire that broke out at a commercial complex in Guwahati remained untamed for over 33 hours even as more than two dozen fire tenders have been struggling to douse the blaze, a senior official said on Thursday. The fire broke out at Swagata Square Complex in ABC Point around 12.30 am on Wednesday. The multi-storey building houses SBI's zonal office, commercial branch and the premium banking branch, and a shopping mall, 'Sohum Emporia'. More than 25 fire tenders have been struggling for more than 33 hours. Water tenders from the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Guwahati Refinery also joined the efforts to douse the blaze, while NDRF was called in to assist with their high-tech smoke reduction machine. Apart from Guwahati, fire tenders came from Morigaon, Kamrup and Nalbari districts, as well, while more vehicles were on the way from Darrang. "The fire is still raging on the sixth floor. We are trying to douse it," a senior official of the Fire & Emergency Services ...