At least 18 dead in major fire at restaurant and hotel in Delhi
At least 18 people have died in a fire that engulfed a restaurant in India’s capital Delhi on Wednesday morning.
Delhi Fire Services said they rushed multiple fire engines to the Lemon Green Restaurant in the busy Malviya Nagar neighbourhood of South Delhi area after receiving a call about a blaze at around 9.45am.
Eleven people were rescued from the multi-storey building and taken to hospital for treatment, fire department officials said, according to the PTI news agency.
Local officials said some people survived by jumping from windows on upper storeys. There are fears the toll could continue to rise, with victims being treated for severe burns.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Somnath Bharti, a former lawmaker from the constituency, in a post on X claimed that “majorly South African nationals” were found dead, though this has yet to be confirmed by officials.
Police have yet identified any of the victims, or specified whether foreign nationals were among those killed in the fire.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar in Delhi