A huge fire tore through a paint factory in New Delhi, the capital of India, killing at least 11 people and injuring four more.
The factory's lower level caught fire late on Thursday, trapping the victims on upper stories with no way out, according to fire authorities. The factory building also housed a chemical warehouse in the northern area of Alipur in New Delhi.
"There was a blast in the paint factory and the building collapsed. The victims were labourers in the factory," fire services director Atul Garg told AFP. "The impact was such that the fire spread to a house and a drug rehabilitation centre nearby."
Still the cause of the fire was not clear. Bodies of the 11 victims were recovered from the rubble after almost five hours of firefighting by 22 fire engines. The victims’ identities were yet to be determined.
Garg said the fire had since been controlled and the cause of the blast was being ascertained.
Factory accidents are common across India, with owners often ignoring basic safety requirements and operating without permits. More than 40 people died in a fire in a factory making school bags and shoes in Delhi in 2019.
One of India's worst fires was in 1985 at a school in the northern state of Haryana where 442 people died, 258 of them children.
