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At least fourteen persons died and 36 others suffered injuries when a major fire engulfed a congregation of eunuchs at a community centre in an east Delhi locality tonight, police said.
The incident took place at around 7 PM on Sunday evening at the community hall in Nand Nagri area where a three-day congregation of eunuchs was taking place, they said.
Police said the fire first began in the kitchen of the community centre and thereafter spread to other parts of the hall. Government officials and hospital authorities put the toll at 14. The injured have been admitted to various
hospitals.
The congregation has been going for the past three days and Sunday was the final day. The casualities could go up, police said.
A senior Fire Officer maintained that the programme organisers had not taken premission from the Delhi Fire Service and whether the venue had adequate fire safety measures, including emergency exists, will have to be investigated.
He said it was necessary to have fire fighting equipment and emergency exists and clearly defined escape routes at the
venues of such programmes.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government ordered a thorough investigation into the fire incident.