In brief
The fire forced nearly all workers to evacuate, trapping some on upper floors. Six workers were rescued in unconscious condition; four died at hospital and two are receiving treatment. Police have ordered an investigation to determine the cause.
On the night of October 31, a fire broke out in a shoe factory in Delhi’s Mangolpuri industrial area, trapping workers on the upper floors and resulting in the deaths of four people and injuries to two others. The blaze began in the basement, where heavy smoke spread rapidly up the building. Six workers were rescued from inside the factory in an unconscious state and rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri.
"Six people were rescued from inside the factory in an unconscious condition and rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri," a police official said. The four rescued workers were declared dead at the hospital, while the other two are undergoing treatment. The victims were employees of the footwear manufacturing unit.
Preliminary investigations by fire officials indicated that the source of the blaze was the basement of the footwear manufacturing unit. The heavy smoke that followed quickly spread through the building, making it impossible for workers on the upper floors to escape. According to the report, the strict adhering to fire safety regulations was not addressed, but no official statement has yet verified any lapse.
The police have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. The investigation team has collected evidence from the site and is working to reconstruct the chain of events that led to the tragedy. No definitive cause has been announced, and the investigation is still ongoing.
Emergency services responded to the call in the early hours, opening several exit routes and attempting to rescue the trapped workers. The severity of the smoke and flames prevented many from escaping, leading to the high fatality rate. Firefighters were noted as having difficulty controlling the blaze due to its rapid spread from the basement to the upper levels.
The incident has drawn attention to the safety conditions in industrial factories in Delhi, especially those operating in dense urban areas. Local authorities have promised to review fire safety protocols in the open‑mindeding.
There are no statements available from the factory’s management regarding the incident or the safety measures they had in place. No company spokesperson has been quoted in the published source, so details of the company’s internal response remain unknown.
The fire struck the Mangolpuri industrial area, a locale home to many small and medium-sized manufacturing units. The sudden onset of the blaze forced evacuation procedures into disarray, with workers on upper floors facing rapidly developing smoke and heat.
Both the police and fire departments have stated that they will continue to investigate the precise cause of the blaze, including potential electrical faults or unsafe storage of combustibles. The investigation has not yet concluded, so no explicit cause or fault can be assigned as of the date of the report.
What remains unclear, according to the sources that have been cited, is the specific trigger for the fire and whether any industrial safety violations contributed to the tragedy. The investigation is ongoing, and no definitive conclusions have yet been announced.