Students of a coaching institute in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area today Thursday, June 15, smashed windows, climbed down ropes and took the help of ladders in desperate attempts to escape a fire that broke out on the top floor of the building housing it, as stated in a report by PTI.
Reacting to this incident, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed concern over the fire incident at the coaching institute in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar, in which, a few students sustained minor injuries. The CM said, there was no need to panic and the blaze was brought under control by the Delhi Fire Service.
"This fire incident is very unfortunate. Some students sustained minor injuries while trying to escape. Rest of the students are fine. There is no need to panic, Fire brigade has controlled the fire. District administration is present on the spot," he tweeted in Hindi.
What happened at Mukherjee Nagar?
A call about the fire was received at 12.27 pm and 11 fire tenders were pressed into service, said Delhi Fire Service Director Atul Garg. Further, he told PTI that 10-12 students suffered minor injuries while climbing down ropes in panic. "There is no major causality. All students have been rescued. All are safe," he added.
The preliminary inquiry suggested that the fire started from the meter board installed on the fourth floor of the building. The building comprises ground plus four floors, officials said. In a video shared by the fire department, the firemen can be seen rescuing people, mostly students, through the windows. The panic-stricken students are seen climbing down from the top floor of the building with the help of ropes.
Smoke can also be seen coming out of that floor. Ropes on the other side of the building were also used by the students to come out of the premises. Additionally, the video shows trapped students coming out of the top floor of the building one by one. Some of them are also seen throwing their bags and helping one another during the rescue operation.
Moreover, a large crowd gathered on the ground floor with many of them recording videos of the incident on their mobile phones. "The firefighting operation has been finished. So far no major injuries have been reported," Garg added, as stated in a report by PTI.
Delhi Police Spokesperson Suman Nalwa said the fire started from the electric meters of the building and the smoke spread to the other floors. "A coaching centre was running on the upper floor of the building. Smoke coming out of the building created panic. Students tried to come out of the building from windows and some of them suffered injuries. They were taken to hospital and the fire has been brought under control," she added.
Mukherjee Nagar is a coaching hub for government job aspirants.
