NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire swept through a building in a New Delhi neighborhood Wednesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring several others, police said.
The building in the Malviya Nagar neighborhood in the southern part of the city had a restaurant on the ground floor and a hotel above. The predominantly residential area is densely populated and is popular with students and young professionals.
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Local people rescue a foreign national from a hotel fire in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Firefighters douse a fire in a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Firefighters rescue a foreign national from a hotel fire in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A foreign national woman shouts for help from a hotel window as fire engulfs the building in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Local people attempt to douse a fire at a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
The blaze was extinguished with the help of eight fire engines, and more than 40 people were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals, Delhi police said in a statement.
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
Images from the scene showed firefighters trying to douse the blaze as thick smoke billowed from the building. Some people trapped inside were seen hanging from windows and shouting for help as flames and smoke swept through parts of the building.
Local residents also joined rescue efforts, helping evacuate people trapped inside and carrying some of the injured to safety.
Some of the victims were foreign nationals who had traveled to India for medical treatment, local media reported. Many foreign patients travel to New Delhi for medical treatment and often stay in nearby hotels or residential accommodation during their visits.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the deaths, his office said in a post on X. It also said that the families of those killed would receive 200,000 rupees ($2,088) each in financial assistance.
Fires are common in India, where building laws and safety norms are often flouted by builders and residents.
Local people rescue a foreign national from a hotel fire in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Firefighters douse a fire in a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Firefighters rescue a foreign national from a hotel fire in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A foreign national woman shouts for help from a hotel window as fire engulfs the building in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Local people attempt to douse a fire at a hotel in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s interior minister accused activists of hijacking a tragedy to stir up violence after police were attacked at a protest over the death of a teenager who was handcuffed as he lay dying while his killer stood nearby.
Police were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares late Tuesday by some of the hundreds who attended a protest in the southern English coast city of Southampton, where Henry Nowak was killed in December. Two people were arrested and 11 officers and a police dog were injured, police said.
Nowak's death has triggered debates about policing and knife crime and has spurred claims by far-right activists and politicians that there is bias against white people in the justice system.
Nowak’s killer, Vickrum Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed he was the victim of a racist assault by 18-year-old Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday that the case had left “serious questions to answer, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking." But he called the street violence “disgraceful and completely unacceptable.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Nowak's family had "made a powerful call to us all yesterday to not let Henry’s death be used to create further division, hatred or tension.
“There can be no justification for hijacking this tragedy to stir up violence and disorder. Those responsible can expect to face the full force of the law,” she said.
Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder and sentenced Monday to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years. The judge said he didn’t believe Nowak had said anything racist to his attacker.
After the sentencing, police released video showing officers dismissing Nowak when he told them he had been stabbed and repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of the officers from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The National Police Chiefs’ Council said it will review its anti-racism guidance in the wake of the killing.
After the sentencing hearing, the victim’s father, Mark Nowak, said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”
But Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party, said on Tuesday that it was an example of so-called two-tier policing — a popular far-right talking point that claims ethnic minorities are better treated than white people.
Farage urged people to respond to the incident with “pure cold rage,” and said, “white lives matter just as much as Black lives.” X owner Elon Musk and British far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, have also expressed outrage at the crime.
Some politicians have called for Sikhs to be banned from carrying ceremonial knives, known as kirpans. The judge said Digwa had a small kirpan but also had an 8-inch (21-centimeter) sheathed Sikh dagger that was used as the weapon to kill Nowak.
Hampshire Police chief constable Alexis Boon said he understood the “desire for answers and accountability.”
“But that must be done in the right way and not used as an excuse to threaten and intimidate my officers and bring violence to our streets, causing fear and harm to those living and working in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight,” he said.
People protest outside the police station in Southampton, England, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, one holding a photo of December 2025 stabbing victim Henry Nowak, 18. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
People gather to protest outside Southampton police station, Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026, after the fatal stabbing of Henry Nowak, a British teenager who was handcuffed despite claiming he was the crime victim. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
In this image taken from PA Video, police and protestors clash during a protest following the death of Henry Nowak, a 18-year-old student stabbed to death with a Sikh kirpan ceremonial by Vickrum Digwa, in Southampton, England, Tuesday June 2, 2026. (Jamie Lashmar/PA via AP)
