18 foreign nationals confirmed killed in Delhi hotel fire, safety lapses exposed
New Delhi : The death toll from the fire at Flourish Stay Hotel in Malviya Nagar, which took place in first week of June, has risen to 21, with 18 of the deceased confirmed as foreign nationals, exposing critical safety violations in Delhi’s budget lodging sector.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the blaze broke out in the multi-storey building housing a restaurant on the ground floor and a hotel above. Delhi Fire Services said 21 bodies were recovered and more than 40 people were injured, several critically.
Officials confirmed 18 of those killed were foreign guests, including nationals from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique and Liberia. Survivors and eyewitnesses said the hotel had only one narrow exit and lacked fire extinguishers, alarms and proper ventilation.
Many guests were trapped on upper floors as smoke filled corridors within minutes. “There was no emergency exit, no smoke detectors. We had to break windows and jump,” a survivor from Bangladesh said.
Delhi Police have registered a case against the hotel owner and manager under sections related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and negligence. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi sealed the building and ordered inspections of other hotels in Malviya Nagar.
The incident has triggered fresh scrutiny of fire safety enforcement in Delhi’s unregulated guesthouses, which frequently host medical tourists and low-income travelers.
