Two Smother To Death As Fire Engulfs Furniture Shop In Kirti Nagar

Kirti Nagar has several large warehouses for wooden furniture. The duo died in the sleep inside the shop due to smoke-induced asphyxiation.

New Delhi: Two people smothered to death when fire engulfed a shop in the furniture market in the Kirti Nagar area of New Delhi on Saturday night. Police said the fire was contained and the bodies of the deceased have been recovered but the cause of the fire needs to be thoroughly investigated before concluding.

Kirti Nagar has several large warehouses for wooden furniture. The duo died in the sleep inside the shop due to smoke-induced asphyxiation. The roof of the building where sofa covers used to be manufactured caught fire sparing the bottom portion.

West district DCP Vichitra Veer said a call informing about the fire incident was received by the fire brigade at 4.30 am on November 3 following which several fire tenders were rushed to the spot. It took a while for the firefighters to douse the fire.

When the charred building was unlocked, two scorched bodies, identified as Atul Rai (45) of Azamgarh in UP and Nandkishore (65) of Bihar's Gaya, were taken out. The former worked as a labourer while the latter was a goods carrier in the shop.

A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) investigated the spot minutely and collected samples to ascertain what led to the fire. Though, preliminarily it is assumed that a short-circuit might be behind it.