Firefighter dies dousing flames in Delhi

NEW DELHI - A 59-year-old fire official was killed and 21 officers were injured while extinguishing flames in a residence-cum-factory complex in east Delhi Wednesday, a fire official said.

Nand Kishore Tiwari, who was to retire in 2011 and posted at Lakshmi Nagar fire station, rushed to the Vishwas Nagar area around 2 p.m. after the fire broke out, a fire officer said.

The fire began in an illegally-run factory at the basement of a residential complex. Twentythree fire tenders were rushed to the spot and 21 people from civic authority, disaster management authority, Delhi Police and fire officers were injured in the incident,” the officer said.

There were chemical drums in the factory and as the fire officials opened the shutter, there was a blast killing Tiwari on the spot,” he said.

Three floors of the building were gutted. The owner of the house was on the run, officials said.