At least 21 people, including 18 foreign nationals, were killed in a fire at a hotel in New Delhi on Wednesday, police and broadcaster CNN-News18 said, in one of the worst such incidents in the national capital since 2022. The dead included people from Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique and Liberia, the broadcaster said.

Building fires are common in India due to a lack of firefighting equipment and routine disregard for safety regulations.

The fire broke out in the morning at Flourish Stay, a bed-and-breakfast in a congested neighbourhood in the south of the city, Delhi Police said in a statement.

“It is with profound sorrow that 21 persons have been declared dead in this tragic incident,” the force said.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the nationalities of the victims. Several people had jumped out of the burning building in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar to escape the flames, witnesses said, with residents dragging mattresses from a nearby store to try to break their fall.

“People spread mattresses, and a woman from the third floor jumped on it with a little kid,” witness Sher Khan said.

Television footage showed two people jumping from a higher floor of the building as it was engulfed in flames, with smoke billowing out.

Local people who helped in the initial rescue said the fire broke out on the ground and first floors of the four-storey building, trapping those on higher floors.

“There is a mattress shop here … We took the mattresses from there and laid them on the road to help those who were jumping out of the building,” Wasim Raja, a local resident, told news agency ANI.

The police force said rescue and search operations were continuing, with more than 40 people taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The blaze was eventually brought under control with the help of eight fire engines, police said.

“All concerned agencies remain deployed at the spot to ensure every possible assistance to those affected,” the force added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “tragic”.

“My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones,” his office said in a statement on X.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

Electrical short circuits, often caused by poorly maintained wiring, remain the leading cause of fire incidents in India.

In March, a fire at a government-run hospital in eastern India killed at least 10 critically ill patients.