2 children killed in Okhla's Shaheen Bagh fire, rescue operation underway

Fire broke out in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar on Tuesday afternoon. Six fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. News Nation has learnt that the fire started in Abul Fazal Enclave in Shaheen Bagh area. Two children were killed in the fire. Recue operation is underway. It would be a daunting task for the fire tenders to reach the spot in this very congested area.The National Capital has seen several cases of blaze engulfing residential as well as commercial properties. On March 24, a fire had broken out on the ground floor of the AIIMS Trauma Centre near the operation theatre area on Sunday, which triggered panic among people, including patients. No casualty was reported in the incident, AIIMS authorities had said.

The fire was brought under control by 8 pm and the cooling process is underway, Chief Fire officer Atul Garg said. AIIMS administration had instituted an inquiry into the matter to identify the cause of the fire, which is suspected to be due to a short circuit.

According to a source at the hospital, two patients in separate operation theatres (OTs) had undergone surgeries just half an before the fire broke out and were at the OT recovery rooms.

Around 50 patients from different floors of the AIIMS Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center's wing 'A', which is located above the operation area, were evacuated due to large amount of smoke emanating from these floors and were shifted to other wards, he said.

The electricity supply was also stopped in the building at that time, he added. The hospital source said there was also a leakage in the oxygen supply pipe behind the manifold due to which the oxygen supply to the building was stopped for sometime, which was later repaired and restored.

The AIIMS, in a statement, said at around 5:45 pm the smoke was noticed in one of the stores adjacent to the OT on the ground floor, staff and doctors of the hospital showed alertness and took quick action to try and douse the fire, while alerting the hospital's fire safety team and fire brigade, which immediately responded to the call.

On February 12, the National Capital witnessed the most deadly fire of the year so far. Seventeen people were killed and several injured in a massive fire that broke out in Delhi’s Karol Bagh area in the early morning hours on that fateful day. The blaze was reported from Hotel Arpit Palace in Karol Bagh, which has later doused.

(With agency inputs)