Massive fire guts 3 shops in Delhi; 5 injured, building collapses

New Delhi: Five people were injured after a massive fire broke out in three hardware shops in the national capital during the small hours of Saturday, an official said.

A Fire department official told IANS that they received a call about a fire at 4.20 a.m. at shop no 391-392, Azad Market Shivaji Road, near Pul Bangash metro station in north Delhi after which 19 fire tenders were immediately pressed into the service.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said they also received a call at the same time after which the police staff rushed to the spot and found that some small shops of paint, tripal, bag making etc were burning and the main building where the fire broke out had collapsed.

"Incidentally, a cylinder explosion also took place after the fire spread to an adjoining welding shop, resulting in minor injuries to five persons," Kalsi said, adding that the condition of the injured is now stable.

The official confirmed that there have been no casualties in the incident, however, there was certainly a massive loss of property. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. As per the video recorded by the onlookers, thick fumes of black smoke along with massive blaze could be seen billowing out of the buildings. The inferno was brought under control at around 8.00 a.m. after over four hours of intense fire fighting operation.

Meanwhile, disaster management teams are on the spot along with the JCBs to clear the debris of the collapsed building.

Notably, the incident comes just two days after a fire broke out at the New Delhi Railway Station in Delhi on Thursday. No injuries were reported in the incident.