Four hurt as building collapses after fire

A four-storeyed building went up in flames and a portion of it collapsed in Central Delhi on Sunday after plastic stored in its ground floor caught fire following a suspected short-circuit. Four persons,including three firemen,suffered injuries when a portion of the building collapsed following the blaze in Maliwada locality of Naya Sada near Chowri Bazar around 5 pm,fire officials said.

Two mysterious explosions were also heard from inside the building. “The fire led to the collapse of a portion of the building. The fire broke out on the ground floor and spread to other floors and soon it was all over the building,” officials said.

Twenty-seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot,officials said,adding that narrow lanes caused a hurdle for fire fighters to rush to the spot. Soon after the incident,people residing in adjoining buildings were evacuated. “The building houses a godown of plastic. The approach to the building was very narrow. We had to park fire tenders around 500 m away on the main road and then take the hoses to the building,” the officials said. “A lot of water was lost due to leakages in pipes,” locals said.