Fire erupts in hotel basement near Delhi's Safdarjung Enclave

NEW DELHI: A fire broke out in the basement of a hotel located in Humayunpur Village near Safdarjung Enclave on Thursday evening, according to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS).The fire department received a call about the incident at 7:06 pm, following which five fire tenders were rushed to the spot to carry out firefighting and rescue operations.Fire officials said the blaze had engulfed furniture stored in the basement. The fire was brought under control within around 15 minutes, according to news agency PTI.No casualties were reported in the incident.Meanwhile, investigators probing the deadly guest house fire in Delhi's Malviya Nagar, which claimed 21 lives a day earlier, have uncovered several safety lapses. Preliminary findings suggest that most of the victims died due to suffocation and smoke inhalation rather than burn injuries, sources said on Thursday.Police conducted a room-by-room search of the guest house after the fire and recovered around 50 to 60 mobile phones from the premises. Nearly 30 passports were also recovered during the search, sources said.According to sources, the rooms remained extremely hot even after the fire was extinguished, indicating the intensity of the blaze and the severe impact of heat and smoke inside the building.