Two children were charred to death, and a man was injured, in a huge fire that broke out at a slum cluster in Northwest Delhi’s Rohini on Sunday (27).

According to foreign media reports, around 800 shanties were gutted.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg wrote on ‘X’ that the crowd at Bengali Basti near Shri Niketan Apartments was very “hostile” amid fire-fighting operations.

“DFS jawans are doing their best,” he wrote. Locals, on the other hand, claimed fire tenders took a long time to arrive.

Fire officials said the tenders were unable to enter the narrow lanes, surrounded by boundary walls of a nearby society, and it took them more than three hours to douse the flames.

The bodies a two and a half-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy were found, while a man, identified as Shabul Sheikh, 27, sustained injuries. Officials said the children have not yet been identified, and a search for other missing people continued.

Even as the reason for the blaze is yet to be ascertained, officers said it started from one slum and quickly spread to the others.

“It is possible that LPG cylinders inside the slums burst, which fuelled the blaze,” a DFS official said.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, in a post on 'X', expressed her condolences and wrote “… the Delhi government is taking all necessary measures to support the victims.

The local MLA & SDM immediately reached the site to coordinate relief efforts, including the provision of mobile toilets, medical assistance & food for the affected residents.”

“Displaced families are being shifted to nearby schools, where temporary shelters and all essential facilities are being arranged for their well-being,” she added.