New Delhi, June 4 -- Multiple safety lapses have come to light during the investigation into the deadly fire at a guest house in the national capital Malviya Nagar, a day ago in which 21 people died, while preliminary findings suggest that a majority of the victims died due to suffocation and smoke inhalation rather than burn injuries, sources said on Thursday.

According to sources, police conducted a room-by-room search of the guest house following the incident and recovered nearly 50 to 60 mobile phones from the premises. Around 30 passports were also recovered during the search.

Sources said that even after the fire was brought under control, the rooms inside the guest house remained extremely hot, indicating the intensity of the bla...