A major fire at a hotel-style bed-and-breakfast in south Delhi has left 21 people dead, officials said. The incident occurred at the six-storey “Flourish Stay B&B” in the Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar.
According to reports, the fire broke out around 8.45 am in the property’s restaurant and spread rapidly through the building within minutes. More than 70 people, including foreign nationals and relatives of patients from a nearby hospital, were staying at the premises.
Local residents joined rescue efforts even before firefighters arrived. Mattress shop owners nearby reportedly brought mattresses and spread them outside the building, helping several people who jumped from the fourth and fifth floors escape with minor injuries. Fire services, arriving with more than 10 vehicles, rescued over 60 people and shifted them to hospitals.
Doctors said 21 victims died, many of them foreign nationals, with several others in critical condition. The deceased are reported to be from Central Asian and African countries. Authorities are investigating the cause, and concerns were raised that the building had only one entrance, making evacuation difficult.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia assistance from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund—Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured. Delhi Police registered a case and arrested the building owner, Lavkesh Bajaj, who had gone missing after the incident and was traced following a lookout notice.
