NEW DELHI: Two persons jumped from a hotel building in Karol Bagh area here in a bid to save themselves. They died from their injuries.
The fire killed 17 people, authorities in the Indian capital said, raising fresh questions about safety standards in poorly regulated budget hotels.
Frequent raids by civic authorities to enforce building codes, fire safety measures and evacuation procedures have failed to curb violations in a rapidly expanding city of more than 18 million people.
Most of the victims were sleeping when the fire broke out, believed to have been caused by a short circuit, media said.
The dead included a woman and a child who had tried to escape by jumping from a fifth-floor window of the 65-room hotel in the shopping district of Karol Bagh, some of which had been booked by a wedding party.
Television showed pictures of flames leaping from the top floor. Those staying in the hotel included a group of tourists from Myanmar, broadcaster NDTV said, adding that authorities were trying to ascertain their whereabouts.
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