HELLISH

At Least 43 People Burned to Death in New Delhi Factory Fire

Rescue operations were hampered by electrical cabling hanging across the narrow alleyways leading to the factory.

At least 43 people sleeping inside a factory in New Delhi have died after a fire broke out on the fourth floor of a factory early Sunday morning. Firefighters were unable to get closer than 100 yards from the blaze due to the narrow alleyways tangled with electrical wiring near the burning building. Local news reports that it took 25 fire trucks to put out the blaze, working through a labyrinth of access routes. The Associated Press reports that many of the victims were migrant workers from the impoverished state of Bihar in eastern India who also slept on the premises and earned around $2.10 a day making handbags, hats and other garments. The blaze started near Sadar Bazaar, New Delhi’s largest wholesale market for household goods, and investigators are looking into whether the factory was operating legally.