Fire in Delhi shoe factory under control, 4-6 workers said to be missing

New Delhi: The fire which broke out at a shoe factory in West Delhi's Udyog Nagar earlier on Monday has been brought under control, said a fire official.

The official said that at least four-six people are missing. However, no body has been recovered so far from the factory and a search operation was continuing.

Although no casualties have been reported yet, the owner of the factory told the firefighters that six of his employees were missing and were not responding to calls on their mobile phones, said Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg.

A major portion of the factory has been badly damaged due to the devastating fire and the building has been declared as dangerous by the Municipal Corporation, the fire department added.

A total of 31 fire tenders and more than 100 firefighters were pressed into service to douse the flames, fire department officials said, adding that two people, who were missing earlier, have been rescued.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and the shoe factory lacked fire safety measures, the officials said.

Fire officials also said that information about the fire was given late otherwise it could have been controlled earlier. "Spread over a 1000 sq m area, the factory has two parts. The factory was shut, however, the owner of the factory said 4-6 people are missing as they are not answering phone calls, search operation is still underway. However, no body has been recovered so far," Garg added.