Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A devastating fire that raced through a five‑storey bed‑and‑breakfast in New Delhi’s Malviya Nagar neighbourhood on Wednesday morning, 3 June 2026, has claimed 21 lives, including 18 foreign nationals. Police and broadcaster CNN‑News18 confirmed that the deceased came from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique and Liberia. More than 40 other guests were rescued, many of whom remain in critical condition with severe burns, fractures from desperate jumps, and lung damage from smoke inhalation. Within hours of the blaze, Delhi Police arrested the hotel owner, Lovkesh Bajaj, as investigators began examining a catalogue of alleged safety violations, including a single exit, sealed windows, a locked roof access, and the fact that the building was licensed for only six rooms but was operating 25 illegally constructed rooms at the time of the fire.
The fire broke out shortly before 9:00 a.m. local time at the Flourish Stay B&B located near the Hauz Rani area of Malviya Nagar, a short distance from Max Hospital. The building, a narrow five‑storey structure, was built “like a shaft,” according to the Chief Fire Officer of the Delhi Fire Services, South Zone, AK Malik. The facade was fitted with toughened glass windows that proved virtually unbreakable, and the building had only one entry and exit point – a sensor‑operated entrance gate that failed when the fire knocked out electricity, leaving guests trapped. The roof was also locked from the outside, blocking a potential escape route that first responders say could have saved many lives. A lawyer and volunteer rescuer, Mohammed Afzal, who helped carry bodies and survivors out of the inferno, told CNN‑News18: “If the roof had been open, many would have lived.”
Eyewitnesses described a scene of utter chaos. Thick black smoke filled the building within minutes, disorienting guests who were either asleep or too weak to move; many of the foreign nationals staying at the guesthouse were in Delhi for medical treatment at nearby Max Hospital or were accompanying relatives who were undergoing surgery. Bystanders grabbed quilts and mattresses from a neighbouring mattress shop and spread them on the road, shouting for guests to jump. Television footage showed at least two people leaping from upper floors as flames and smoke billowed out of the building. One witness, Sher Khan, told Reuters: “A woman from the third floor jumped onto a mattress with a little kid.” Others were less fortunate. Rescuers said they found people lying next to pressure cookers that they had used in a futile attempt to smash the reinforced glass windows. “We hurled bricks and stones at the glass so that some people could get out, but nothing worked,” Afzal said.
Max Hospital, Saket, was the main receiving facility for the victims. In a statement, the hospital said 39 patients were rushed to its emergency department. Eighteen were declared brought dead on arrival. Fifteen others were admitted to the intensive care unit, eight of whom remained on ventilator support in critical condition. Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, Group Medical Director of Max Healthcare, said many patients suffered from “asphyxiation injuries”, minor burns and fractures. “Because many patients claimed they jumped from high buildings, the resulting fractures were long bone fractures and pelvic bone fractures. One patient has a spinal injury and is undergoing neurosurgery,” Budhiraja said. The charred remains of several victims were so disfigured that police said identification was becoming increasingly difficult as most identity documents had been destroyed in the blaze.
As the fire was being extinguished, a parallel investigation began. Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Police discovered that the Flourish Stay B&B had been granted a bed‑and‑breakfast licence valid for only six rooms. However, the building contained 25 rooms spread across the basement, ground floor and upper floors, meaning it was operating at more than four times its permitted capacity. Chief Fire Officer Malik also noted that the building had no ventilation and was “sealed from all four sides”. In addition to the single entry‑exit point, investigators are examining unverified claims that the basement, where several guests were trapped, was locked from the outside, forcing rescuers to spend more than 20 minutes breaking it open.
By Wednesday afternoon, Delhi Police had registered a case of culpable homicide and formed a team to trace the owner, Lavkesh Bajaj (also identified as Lovkesh Bajaj in some reports). Bajaj was later arrested and is being questioned about the glaring safety lapses, the illegal construction, the locked roof and the failure to provide adequate fire‑fighting equipment or a certified emergency evacuation plan. Delhi Minister Ashish Sood said: “We will not spare any illegal building, and those found guilty will be arrested.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on X, and President Droupadi Murmu also extended her sympathies to the families of the victims.
The tragedy has triggered a widespread safety audit of bed‑and‑breakfast establishments across the capital. The Delhi High Court had already, in January 2026, ordered urgent action on fire safety in city hotels and restaurants – a directive that, as of June 2026, had not been implemented. Wednesday’s fire is the deadliest in Delhi since the 2022 Hotel Arpit Palace fire, which killed 17 people in Karol Bagh. As forensic teams sift through the debris of the Flourish Stay B&B, the families of at least 18 foreign nationals – including several Nigerians – are left to mourn their loved ones, cut down not by a freak accident but by a cascade of preventable safety failures that turned a bed‑and‑breakfast into a death trap.
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