Fire at shoe factory in Delhi, one charred to death

A 32-year-old man was charred to death after a fire broke out at a shoe factory in outer Delhi's Narela, officials said. body was beyond recognition and it was suspected to be of security guard Mangal Mandal, a resident of Bihar, y said, Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said shoe factory where fire broke out comprised basement, ground and two upper floors and a call about fire was received around 12.45 am.

" fire started from ground floor of factory and h spre to or floors. 24 fire tenders were rushed to spot. fire-fighters started dousing fire first on ground floor and n broke windows for smoke to come out. fire was brought under control within an hour and was followed by cooling operation," he said.

Around 4:45 pm, Mandal's body was found near stairs on top floor of factory, official said, ding floor's gate was locked from inside.

"We suspect that he was trying to escape fire but got stuck because of smoke since raw material inside factory created a lot of smoke," fire official said.

victim worked in night shift and would guard factory from inside, he said. According to police, all three stories were engulfed in fire. factory was locked from inside. " factory owner -- Praveen Kumar told police that it was a holiday on Saturday and that only guard, Mangal Mandal was supposed to be inside factory. We are probing if re was any or person trapped inside said Gaurav Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer rth). Mandal h been working in Delhi for past 10 years.