New Delhi: Two men died in a fire that broke out at Vishal Mega Mart in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh area, police said on Saturday. One of the deceased has been identified as Kumar Dhirender Pratap, 25, who was found dead inside a lift. Police suspect he died due to suffocation after being trapped during the fire. Another decease has been identified as Pawan Gautam, 30, a resident of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. His body was recovered from the building later during cooling operations. He works as lab testing MTs and was residing in Rajender Nagar in a rent accommodation with his wife. According to the fire department and police, the fire was reported at 6:44 pm on Friday from the second floor of the four-storey commercial building located on Padam Singh Road.
Police and eyewitnesses said that at least 50 people were present inside the premises when the fire broke out. A security guard noticed the smoke and raised an alarm, asking everyone to evacuate immediately. “There was panic. The guard kept shouting ‘bhaago bhaago, aag lag gayi hai’ (run, there’s a fire). People rushed out using the staircase, and some managed to exit through the emergency door,” said Abhishek, 32, who was present during the incident. Officials from the fire department said that the fire mainly affected the second floor, where a significant amount of flammable stock was stored. “The fire quickly spread due to large quantities of fabric and packaging materials. Smoke filled the premises, which made rescue efforts more difficult,” a fire officer said. Thirteen fire tenders and around 90 firefighters were deployed to control the blaze.