A severe fire at a data centre in New Delhi operated by STT Global Data Centres India on June 5 has sparked widespread concern over potential data loss and ongoing disruptions to cloud services. The incident has reportedly impacted various global technology companies and businesses that relied on the facility for critical data storage.
According to Reuters, a letter from Novamesh, a Tata Communications subsidiary, indicated that the blaze caused “extensive damage” to parts of the data centre, significantly complicating data recovery efforts. The fire's severity created substantial obstacles to restoring affected systems and data, though the company continues to work towards service restoration.
Businesses Face Decades of Data Loss
Among the hardest hit is Indian telecom services provider Matrix Cellular, whose CEO, Gaurav Khanna, stated the company might have lost over 20 years of operational and business data. Khanna noted that nearly three weeks after the incident, backup systems remained unrestored, highlighting the profound impact on affected clients.
The fire also had broader implications for cloud infrastructure. Google Cloud customers in India experienced intermittent network disruptions, which sources linked to the incident. While Google did not explicitly name the facility, it acknowledged a fire at a third-party data centre necessitated an emergency shutdown of networking equipment. As of June 23, Google indicated some customers might continue to face latency issues until full restoration, with no immediate workaround available.
Investigation Underway for Data Centre Blaze
Television footage from the day of the fire revealed extensive damage, including burnt server racks, destroyed electrical infrastructure, collapsed ceiling panels, and debris scattered throughout the premises.
The exact cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Delhi Fire Services officials have suggested that lithium battery units could have been involved. STT Global Data Centres India confirmed an independent technical root-cause analysis is in progress. The company’s preliminary assessments suggest the damage was largely confined to a single data hall and its related infrastructure, with other parts of the facility remaining operational. STT Global Data Centres India is actively assisting affected customers by migrating workloads to alternative capacity where feasible.