Deadly fire kills at least 21 in south Delhi building, authorities probe whether Malviya Nagar site operated without proper permissions as medical-travel lodging, victims include foreigners staying near private hospitals

Images

Firefighters and police officers stand at the site after the fire in Delhi bbc.com

The building allegedly operated as a bed-and-breakfast catering to patients and relatives of those receiving treatment at a nearby private hospital bbc.com

A woman is rescued from the burning building in New Delhi (AP) independent.co.uk

Firefighters work to put out the blaze (AP) independent.co.uk

At least 21 people were killed in a fire in a multi-storey building in south Delhi, with many of the victims described as foreigners who had travelled to India for medical treatment or to accompany relatives, according to the BBC. Authorities said more than 40 people were rescued and taken to hospital, while the number of people inside the building at the time of the fire remained unclear. The building was in Malviya Nagar and was alleged to have been operating as a bed-and-breakfast catering to patients and families linked to a nearby private hospital.

The incident sits inside a larger, quietly lucrative ecosystem around medical travel and private healthcare clusters, where demand for cheap short-stay accommodation grows faster than enforcement. The BBC reports that officials are investigating whether the building had the necessary permissions to operate as a bed-and-breakfast, and Delhi minister Ashish Sood said those responsible for any violations would face criminal action. The Independent identified the site as the Flourish Stays hotel and reported eyewitness accounts of people jumping from upper floors after the ground floor was engulfed, as well as criticism of the emergency response time.

Both accounts point to the same bottleneck: when a building’s approved use, occupancy levels and escape routes are treated as paperwork rather than physical constraints, the first real inspection happens during the fire. Witnesses told the BBC the blaze spread rapidly and trapped people on upper floors, while bystanders helped some escape before emergency crews arrived. The Independent reported that many rooms were occupied by families of patients and that Malviya Nagar has seen an increase in small hotels and inns serving nearby hospitals, a market that expands with every new ward and every new overseas patient.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and announced compensation for families of those killed and for the injured, according to the BBC and the Independent. Police and fire officials said the cause was not yet known, though authorities indicated it may have started on the ground floor where a restaurant operated.

By Wednesday afternoon, the building had been cleared and opened for investigation. The charred façade in Malviya Nagar is now evidence in a licensing question that, until the fire, was answered by demand.