Twenty-one people, including 12 foreign nationals, were killed in a fire that destroyed a ground-plus-five-storey building operating as a bed and breakfast (B&B) establishment in Malviya Nagar in South Delhi on Wednesday morning.
Police said the foreign nationals belonged to Liberia, Nigeria, and Mozambique in Africa, and Bangladesh. Most of them were medical tourists who had come to India for treatment, or were accompanying patients.
The hotel, called Flourish Stays B&B, is located in a narrow lane in Hauz Rani, diagonally across the street from Max Hospital in Saket. Senior police officers said there were 26 rooms in the establishment, more than four times the maximum permissible number of six.
Most or all rooms in the building are believed to have been occupied at the time of the fire. The building had only one entry and exit. It allegedly did not have a No-Objection Certificate from the Fire Department.
Another tragedy due to illegal additions
The tragedy, among the biggest fire disasters of the past few decades in Delhi, came four days after a building undergoing illegal additions collapsed in Saidulajab, another urban village a couple of kilometres away, killing six people, including five young medical and engineering graduates.
Death toll highest in a Delhi fire
Wednesday’s death toll is the highest in a fire in Delhi since the May 2022 fire in Mundka in west Delhi in which 27 people were killed. Before that, 43 people were killed in the Anaj Mandi fire of 2019, and 59 had perished in the Uphaar cinema tragedy of 1997.
Late on Wednesday evening, police arrested the owner of the B&B, a resident of Saket named Luv Kesh Bajaj. The FIR registered by police has invoked the section relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The fire appears to have started around 8.30 am in the hotel’s kitchen in the basement of the building, and climbed rapidly to the upper floors. The ground, first, and second floors were affected by the heat and dense black smoke.
As tongues of fire shot out of windows and licked around the building’s walls, a number of hotel guests jumped through the smoke, eyewitnesses and rescuers said. Local people smashed windows of the hotel to allow them to escape, and spread mattresses on the road to cushion their fall from the upper storeys.
“I was trying to help some of them, and their skin was just peeling off. It was horrifying. They were screaming in pain,” 40-year-old Israr Khan, one of the first responders, said.
Seven people rescued by security officer
Another resident of the area, Wasim Raza, a security officer at Max Hospital, said he had helped rescue at least seven people.
“There were two rooms in the basement,” Raza said. Several people were trapped inside, and he, along with police personnel, had cut through an iron window grill to reach them, Raza said.
DCP (South) Anant Mittal said: “At 8.48 am, information was received regarding a fire at Flourish Stays B&B, Malviya Nagar. Local police staff immediately reached the spot and commenced rescue, evacuation, and relief operations.”
Eight fire tenders were pressed into service, Mittal said. “Through the coordinated efforts of police, fire services, and other emergency responders, more than 40 persons were rescued and shifted to nearby hospitals for medical treatment,” he said.
The injured have been admitted to Max, Saket, AIIMS Trauma Centre, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Hospital in Malviya Nagar.
In a statement, Max hospital said, “Of the 39 patients received, 18 were brought dead, 15 are admitted in ICU, including 8 patients on ventilator and in critical condition.
“Five patients with minor injuries were treated and discharged following primary medical care. One patient was shifted to Safdarjung Hospital due to excessive burns. The deceased include both local and foreign nationals,” the hospital said.
Thirteen people have been admitted to AIIMS, officials said.
Delhi Home Minister orders building to be sealed
In the afternoon, Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood ordered the summary sealing of any B&B in the city that was found to be violating building plans and guidelines. “No need to issue any showcause notice or give time to such owners for explanation. Just seal all the B&Bs,” Sood said. The Minister also directed a high-level committee to inspect all B&Bs across the capital.
Gaps in government’s B&B policy: says Tourism Minister
In the evening, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra told The Indian Express that the government’s B&B policy had already been withdrawn “about a month ago”. “There were several gaps in it… We are working on a new policy…,” Mishra said.
The Department of Tourism published the draft of its Bed & Breakfast Policy, 2026 on May 26, and invited comments and suggestions from the public.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta met with all ministers, the chief secretary, and all stakeholder departments, and pledged firm and speedy action.
“The lapses…will be examined with utmost seriousness, and accountability will be fixed wherever it lies. A Magisterial Inquiry has been ordered… A city-wide crackdown will be launched against illegal properties, unauthorised guest houses and establishments operating in violation of fire safety norms and building by-laws. Such premises will be sealed and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” the Chief Minister posted on X.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Chief Minister Gupta condoled the loss of lives in the tragedy.
“The loss of lives due to a fire incident in Malviya Nagar, Delhi is tragic. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones,” the Prime Minister’s Office posted on X. The President described the loss of lives as extremely heartbreaking. The LG expressed his deep distress, and the CM said she was deeply saddened.
Malviya Nagar MLA Satish Upadhyay said: “Our immediate response was to activate the entire system. We contacted the Disaster Management team, the DM (district magistrate) of our area, the SHO (station house officer of the local police station), the sub-divisional magistrate, and the deputy commissioner of the municipal corporation (MCD).”
AAP leaders and former Delhi Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi expressed concern over the incident and hit out at the BJP government for the repeated incidents of fire in the capital.
“I pray to God for the peace of the souls of those who lost their lives in the horrific fire… The continuous fire incidents in Delhi and the deaths of innocent people are extremely concerning,” Kejriwal posted on X.
Atishi alleged the BJP government had “completely ruined” the Delhi Fire Service, and said the Chief Minister would have to “answer for these deaths”.
Delhi Malviya Nagar fire: Several people were rushed to hospitals and many were reported to be critically injured. (AP Photo) 
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