The massive fire at a Flourish Inn Hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar has sparked panic among foreign nationals who travel to India for medical treatment. The inferno at the hotel located in the narrow streets of the Hauz Rani area, near Max Super Speciality Hospital, has killed 21 people. Among them, 12 were foreigners.
Most of these people weren't tourists. They were patients and relatives of people who came to India seeking state-of-the-art treatment at one of Delhi's top medical centres.
Ravi Lal Sarpota is one such person who came to Delhi from Naranghat in Nepal with Hagisara Sarpota and his daughter Srijana Sarpota for treatment at Max Super Speciality Hospital. Sarpota told NDTV that now his family is scared of staying at the labyrinth of small hotels, guest houses and bed-and-breakfasts in the narrow lanes of Hauz Rani near Max Hospital. He said that if safety norms were not followed at one hotel, there is no guarantee that they were not flouted at other establishments, and similar incidents won't repeat.
"We had heard good things about the hospital, which is why we came here. We vacated the hotel today. Police had been visiting the hotel since yesterday, but we left today," he said.
The Sarpato family wasn't staying at the Flourish Inn Hotel, where the fire broke out, but at another nearby Green Residency hotel, allegedly linked to the same owner. Following the deadly blaze at Flourish Inn, police reportedly ordered the closure of Green Residency Hotel as part of the ongoing investigation and enforcement drive, asking the guests to vacate the property.
Expressing concern over hotel safety, Sarpato said, "If a fire can break out in one hotel, it could happen in another as well."
His daughter, Srijana Sarpota, said the family remains shaken by the tragedy. "We are scared after hearing about the fire. Today we will look for another hotel. We will stay in Delhi for another two or three days," she said.
Deadly Fire Exposes Safety Violations
At least 21 people were killed, and around 37 others were rescued after a major fire broke out at Flourish Inn on Tuesday morning. According to officials, the blaze started around 8:50 am in the restaurant area of the hotel before rapidly spreading through the building.
Among the dead were nine Indian nationals and 12 foreign nationals, most of them from Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
The incident has exposed serious violations in the operation of the hotel. According to officials, the establishment had been granted a licence under the Delhi government's Bed and Breakfast (B&B) scheme, under which only six rooms were permitted. However, the property was allegedly operating around 25 rooms, including accommodation in the basement.
A preliminary investigation by the Delhi Fire Service has found that the hotel did not possess a valid Fire No Objection Certificate (NOC). Senior officials have indicated that several hotels operating in the area may also be functioning without mandatory fire clearances, prompting a wider inspection drive.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the tragedy, with scrutiny now extending to other hotels in the locality over compliance with fire safety norms and licensing regulations.
