Nine victims perish following suspected air conditioner unit explosion.

Nine people lost their lives and several others sustained injuries after a fierce fire tore through a four-storey residential building in East Delhi’s Vivek Vihar during the early hours of Sunday. Local authorities received an emergency call at approximately 3:48 AM, reporting flames originating from the second floor of the structure in Phase-I. Search teams and firefighters arrived shortly after, but the rapid spread of the blaze trapped multiple families within their homes as they slept.

Preliminary investigations by the Delhi Fire Services and local police suggest a high-intensity air conditioner blast served as the catalyst for the tragedy. While the fire brigade managed to rescue nearly fifteen individuals using ladders and balconies, four people remain in critical condition at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. Eyewitnesses described a loud bang followed by thick black smoke that quickly engulfed the upper floors, making escape routes nearly impossible to navigate.

Vivek Vihar, a densely populated pocket of Shahdara, has previously seen similar safety concerns regarding aging electrical infrastructure and lack of proper fire exits in multi-storey residential blocks. This incident highlights the growing danger of electrical short circuits during Delhi’s intense summer months.

Firefighting operations involving fourteen tenders continued for several hours until the situation was finally brought under control around 8:00 AM. Emergency personnel are currently conducting a cooling process and checking for any additional victims potentially trapped under debris at the rear of the building. Officials confirmed that most fatalities occurred due to asphyxiation and severe burn injuries on the second and third floors.

​​​​​​​Image Courtesy: India TV News