In the early hours of Sunday, a major fire broke through a refugee camp in southeast Delhi’s Kalindi Kunj area. Though no one was seriously hurt, around 230 refugees have lost their shelter along with their valuables, including identity cards and special visas issued by the United Nations.
The Rohingya are a mostly Muslim people who fled from Myanmar due to unsolicited oppression.
- Fire commenced at around 3 am & spread across the camp. It took approximately two hours to control the conflagration. It is suspected that a short-circuit in an electrical wire may have been the cause of the fire.
- Residents said they woke up to the cries of people and as soon as they came out to check they saw massive flames devouring the area. People from the adjoining areas came and tried to douse the fire with buckets of water but the tents quickly caught fire and were devastated.
Locals camp resident claimed that the camp housing almost 100 women and 50 children, fails to have sufficient firefighting equipment although this is the fourth fire incident since the time camp came into existence. They have been provided with only five small fire extinguishers. DCP (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal informed that the police teams reached the area soon after the fire and provided the residents with necessities. He further added that forensic experts and crime team personnel have been called in to investigate all possibilities regarding the origin of the fire.
The case has been registered under appropriate sections and a preliminary investigation has indicated that the fire started due to a short-circuit and spread in the area.
