At least 21 killed in New Delhi hotel fire

At least 21 people were killed after a fire swept through a hotel in New Delhi on June 3, police said, making it one of the deadliest fire incidents in the Indian capital in recent years.

The blaze broke out shortly before 9 a.m. local time at a four-storey hotel in the Malviya Nagar area of South Delhi. Firefighters dispatched eight fire engines to the scene and extinguished the fire around midday, according to authorities and witnesses, Reuters reports. 

Witnesses described scenes of panic as guests trapped on upper floors attempted to escape by jumping from windows and balconies while the building was engulfed in flames.

"People spread mattresses, and a woman from the third floor jumped ⁠on it with a little kid," witness Sher Khan said.

Television footage showed two people jumping from a higher floor as thick smoke billowed from the building.

Residents in the area rushed to assist before emergency crews arrived in full force, using mattresses from a nearby shop to cushion the fall of those escaping the fire.

"There is a mattress shop here ... We took the mattresses from there and laid them on the road to help those who were jumping out of the building," local resident Wasim Raja told news agency ANI.

People involved in the initial rescue effort said the fire appeared to have started on the ground and first floors, trapping guests staying on the upper levels of the hotel.

The cause of the fire has not yet been announced, and authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the victims' families in a post on X, saying: "Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected."

By Sabina Mammadli