Fire at cloth market in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, firefighting operation on

At least two people were reported missing, local residents said even as the Delhi Police were yet to confirm this

A fire broke out at Kaccha Bag wholesale cloth market in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk late on Sunday. The Delhi fire department said some commercial buildings and shops were gutted even as the blaze was yet to be fully controlled. Some shops also collapsed while the firefighting operation was being carried out around 3am.

At least two people present in one of the buildings were missing, local residents said. Police were yet to confirm this.

Over 30 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the flames and prevent them from spreading further. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg and teams from the National Disaster Response Force and police were also at the scene.

A fire department official said that the fire was of a serious category. “As of now, nine fire tenders are still working. Efforts are on to douse the flames.”

Yogesh Singhal, the head of the Bullion and Jewellers Association, said at least three commercial buildings with multiple shops were completely destroyed. “The estimated loss would be in several crores of rupees. I have been at the spot since last night. Senior police officers are also here to supervise the operation.”