15 hours on, firefighting operation under way at Bhalswa landfill in Delhi

As the fire was a major one, three more fire engines were sent to the spot

Efforts are on to douse a fire at the Bhalswa landfill site in north Delhi which has been raging for over 15 hours, officials said on Wednesday.

According to them, five fire tenders are working at the site.

The fire broke out at the landfill site on Tuesday. The fire department received information about the blaze around 5.47 pm following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

Later, three more fire tenders were pressed into service.

"Currently, 13 fire tenders have been engaged to douse the flames," the official said.

The police have also reached the spot. So far, no casualty has been reported from the incident.

It is the second major incident of fire at a dumping yard in the past 30 days.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Officials, however, said the rising temperature these days allows the formation of methane gas at the dumpyard site which is extremely flammable.

"It could have triggered a spark that would have ultimately led to this massive blaze," said the official.

As per the visuals from the spot, the 'hill' of trash is currently under a massive blaze.

The clouds of thick smoke, billowing out of the burning garbage mountain, have enveloped the whole area.

Three incidents of fire were reported this year at east Delhi's Ghazipur landfill site, including the one on March 28 which was doused after over 50 hours.

(With inputs from agencies)