Fire in built environment

Nine members of a family, including three children, died after a fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in southwest Delhi's Palam area on Wednesday (March 18) morning. Three others were injured after two of them jumped from the building at Ram Chowk Market near Palam Metro Station in a desperate attempt to escape the flames, officials said. The five-storey building had a cloth and cosmetic showroom on the ground and first floor, while the family of the owner of the showroom, Rajender Kashyap, lived on the second and third floors.
Visuals from the scene showed thick plumes of black smoke billowing out of the building and rising into the sky, with flames engulfing parts of the structure as firefighters battled the blaze in the congested market area.
Among the people who were rescued from the building, nine were declared dead at the hospital.
Pravesh (33), Kamal, (39), Ashu (35) Lado (70 ), Himanshi (22), Deepika (28) and three minor girls aged 15, six -- were identified to have died in the fire. Anil (32)and one girl (2 yrs) are under treatment and Sachin (29) was being treated for 25 per cent burn injuries at Safdarjung Hospital.
The fire prompted a massive firefighting and rescue operation. Around 30 fire tenders and 11 ambulances were pressed into service, along with personnel from the police, BSES, Air Force police and the NDRF, as part of a massive firefighting and rescue operation. Cooling operations, along with search and rescue efforts, are still underway. Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the fire.
A call regarding the blaze was received at 7 am from a house located in a building in Palam, they said.

CM Orders Magisterial Enquiry
CM Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial enquiry to investigate the incident, in a post on X, she wrote: "Extremely distressed to learn about the unfortunate fire incident at a multi-story residential building at Palam. As per the information received, 6 feared dead, few people still trapped inside the building. District Administration, Delhi Fire Service Department & Delhi Police are leading rescue operation. Magisterial enquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident. Praying for everyone's safety!"
Firefighters carried out intensive search and rescue operations, navigating through narrow lanes and smoke-filled interiors to evacuate those trapped inside. The fire has since been doused, officials said.
(With Inputs from Priyank Tripathi and agencies)