The hunt for those missing in the devastating Meerut inferno bore some fruit with officials claiming to have located as many as 29 of the 40 who were reported to be "untraceable".

Meerut Divisional Commissioner Mohinder Singh told this scribe, "Those believed to be missing were eventually found either among the 37 dead in the mortuary or among the 118 injured battling for their lives in 20 different hospitals spread across Meerut, New Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad."

• 50 killed in Meerut fire

"One of the missing persons was located in his home in Delhi where he reached on his own after taking first aid in a private hospital," Singh said. 

"However, there were still 11 persons whose family members were looking for them. It was therefore on top of our list of priorities to track them down," he added.

Scotching rumours about concealment and clandestine disposal of dead bodies, the commissioner said, "We invited people to come forward and give us details of their missing kin; a list of a total of 40 was drawn up over the past 48 hours since the disaster took place."

He went on to add, "Initially, we put men on the job to crosscheck with each of the hospitals and the mortuary, but now we are matching the addresses too and that proved helpful in locating as many as 29."