Fire rages at Chandni Chowk warehouse

NEW DELHI - A major fire at a warehouse in Delhi’s congested Chandni Chowk market continued to rage Monday, a day after it broke out, officials said. Efforts are on to douse the blaze even as three firemen and a policeman injured have been injured.

The warehouse is on the ground floor of a four-storey building in Chandni Chowk in the old quarter of Delhi and officials suspect a short-circuit could have caused the fire.

“It is almost 17 hours and our fire-fighters are still working to douse the flames at the plastic warehouse. One of our firemen is battling for life at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital while others are stable,” a fire brigade official said.

According to the official, the fire broke out at 5 p.m. Sunday and around 30 firetenders were rushed to the spot.

“It was a warehouse for plastic bags. Plastic catches fire easily. It is thus taking time to contain the fire. The owner was running the warehouse illegally as he did not have the license,” the official added.

“No resident has been injured. The power supply to the area was snapped while people residing in adjoining buildings were evacuated as a precaution,” the official added.

Police said they will start the investigations once the flames are doused.