Mundka fire tragedy: Delhi CM promises Rs 10 lakh to kin of 27 deceased, eyewitnesses recall chaos

The horrifying fire tragedy that took place in Delhi’s Mundka has become the center of attention of various government officials. The incident led to the death of 27 lives, leaving many injured who were admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital.

Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the four-storey building that was on fire on Friday. He announced that the state government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and kin of the deceased will be given Rs 10 lakh compensation. The 12 people who have suffered injuries will be getting Rs 50,000 compensation.

Also, READ: Massive fire near Delhi's Mundka metro station kills 27, PM Modi, CM Kejriwal express distress

Meanwhile, the eyewitnesses of the fire tragedy mentioned that they were horrified when they came across a “cloud of smoke rising” all of a sudden. As per an eyewitness, Bimla, the windows of the building were broken in utter chaos when the building caught fire. “We were all sitting in a meeting. The power went off suddenly and someone said that a cloud of smoke is rising. There was chaos, windows were broken and people threw ropes at us to get down”, she said at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital. "I knew almost everyone in the meeting. But I don’t know where are they now," she added.

A man, named Santosh Kumar, whose wife is missing since the incident, said that he is not yet aware of the whereabouts of his wife. "She worked there. When we went there after the fire incident, we were told to come to the hospital here. We were not allowed to enter the emergency ward here. Later we were allowed, but she was not here. We have filed a missing report. We do not know if she is even alive," he said narrating the horror.

Notably, 25 of the 27 bodies retrieved from the site of the fire have not yet been identified. As per the DCP Outer District - Sameer Sharma, "Rescue mission is on. NDRF is checking if there are more bodies, 27 bodies have been recovered so far, but 25 of them haven’t been identified. The forensic team will check DNA samples while 27-28 missing complaints have been registered.”

The Commissioner has further stated that strict action will be taken against the officers also in case they are found guilty in the investigation. "We’ve registered FIR under appropriate sections. Action will be taken against everyone who did anything wrong or didn’t follow rules. We will do a proper investigation, action will be taken against officers too if they’re found culpable”, he added.

The police has arrested company owners Harish Goel and Varun Goel. The owner of the building who has been identified as Manish Lakra is still absconding.

However, the rescue operation at the fire incident site is now over, said a fire official, who claimed that the death toll could rise to 30.

(With ANI Inputs)