3 killed in factory fire at Delhi's Shahdara

New Delhi: Three persons, including two women, were killed in a massive fire at a hardware factory in the national capital on Saturday, police said. According to Delhi Fire Services officials, the fire broke out at a rubber-plastic factory in Shahdara's Jhilmil Industrial Area around 9 am.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Meghna Yadav said two women and a man were killed in the blaze. The deceased were identified as Manju, Sangeeta and Shoaib, she added. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he would be visiting the site, along with the industries minister.

"Shocked to know about three deaths in a factory fire in Jhilmil Industrial area. Fire Services personnel tried their best to bring the fire under control in hostile conditions. Am visiting the site wid Industries Minister (sic)," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief said in a tweet. According to the fire officials, the information about the blaze was received at 9.25 am and 31 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

The rescue operations were going on, they said, adding that efforts were being made to ascertain if more people were trapped in the building. In January last year, 17 people -- 10 women and seven men -- were killed in a massive blaze at a firecracker storage unit in outer Delhi's Bawana Industrial Area.