Two children killed, 800 shanties gutted as fire engulfs jhuggi cluster in Delhi's Rohini

New Delhi | Two children died and five people were injured when a massive fire gutted over 800 shanties in a jhuggi cluster in Rohini on Sunday morning, a Delhi Fire Service official said.

The blaze was doused completely after firefighters worked tirelessly for three hours, he said.

Charred bodies of two children -- a two-and-a-half-year-old and a three-year-old -- were recovered from the remains, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Amit Goel told PTI.

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) official said they received a distress call around 11.55 am.

"We received a call reporting a fire close to Sriniketan Apartment at Sector 17. We immediately dispatched 17 fire engines. Upon observing the intensity of the fire, we upgraded it to a medium category fire by 12.40 pm and called for more vehicles and manpower," he said, adding that a total of 26 fire tenders were deployed at the spot.

The fire engulfed over 800 densely packed shanties spread across around five acres. Thick plumes of smoke billowed into the sky as fire fighters battled the flames.

Multiple police teams were also deployed at the spot along with the fire brigade.

According to DFS, the fire started from one of the huts and immediately engulfed the entire area.

The official explained that firefighters faced significant hurdles due to the location. "There is an apartment complex with boundary walls in front of the affected area, making access extremely difficult. Fire engines had to be lined up one behind the other, delaying the operation," he said.

Police will investigate the exact cause of the fire, he told PTI Videos.

Preliminary inputs suggest the fire could have been triggered within the cluster itself, he said. There are no organised electrical wiring systems in the area but several LPG cylinders were found, which could have contributed to the spread of the fire.

Some locals said that more than 1,000 poor families have been staying here from many years and all are labourers from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar.

"We lost everything due to fire. We don't even have a hut to stay and save our families from the heatwave. We usually earn Rs 300 to 500 every day. Where we will go now? We request the government for a special assessment and proper compensation," Geeta Devi, who lost her shanty in the fire, said.

She further said that they are not even able to console the family members who lost their children due to the fire incident.

"The family members are totally inconsolable. They need help from the government," she added.

Delhi's former chief minister Atishi said in a post on X, "There was a huge fire in the slums of Rohini at 1 pm today. Two children lost their lives in that fire. And what was Chief Minister Rekha Gupta doing at that time? She was listening to "Mann Ki Baat". The whole day passed - forget about going to the slums of Rohini, the Chief Minister did not even find time to tweet about this."

AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal in a post on X said, "The news of the burning of huts and the tragic death of two innocent children due to fire in Rohini area of Delhi is extremely painful. All the local workers of the party are appealed to fully cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue operation," he wrote in Hindi.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also reached the spot and met the victim's family members.