At least nine people, including a toddler, were killed after a massive fire ravaged a four-storey building in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar in the early hours of Sunday. The fire broke out at 3:48 a.m. and spread to the second, third and fourth floors of the building. Shahdara District Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rajendra Prasad Meena told ANI, “So far 10-15 people have been rescued. 2-3 people are injured and have been sent to hospital. Nine people have lost their lives in the incident. The search operation is still on.”
While the exact cause of the fire remains unknown, eyewitnesses claimed that an air conditioner explosion may have sparked the fire.
“An explosion in the AC started the fire… Around 12-15 were rescued. However, 4-5 people are still missing. The fire broke out around 03:13…,” a resident of Rohit told ANI.
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Eyewitness testimony
Several others who recalled the terrifying blaze described how barbecued balconies and a locked patio became obstacles for residents trying to escape the flames.
Mayank, a resident of the first floor, said he was woken up by the frantic ringing of the house bells. “I was sleeping when the neighbors came and rang the bell several times. When I woke up, I saw that the back of the building was on fire. I somehow managed to escape from my house. The entire staircase was blocked due to the fire. The residents of the apartments located at the back of the building were stuck because there was no way out. Their balcony is blocked by a grill,” quoted Hindustan (Hindustan Time).
“We were stuck inside for an hour and a half. The firemen rescued us,” Ruchi Arora, a resident of the first floor, told HT.
Another eyewitness told NDTV how two children also tried to jump from the front of the building.
A resident named Silky, who lives on the third floor, told of a narrow escape as the fire quickly spread through the building. “We stayed on our balcony for quite some time until the firemen built the Skylift and took us down. The fire reached the lounge and our sofas. Five minutes saved us,” she told HT.
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Another resident, 17-year-old Navami Jha, described the difficulties she faced when she tried to call emergency services. She told HT: “I called 112 at 3.50am. They kept asking me if I lived in Ghaziabad. I said we were at the border at Vivek Vihar. They said it was not their jurisdiction and gave me three numbers. They all didn’t work. The fire brigade and police came after about 15 minutes. Until then we tried to save people by loading mattresses.”
According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), nine charred bodies were recovered from different parts of the building. “One body was found from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked,” said a DFS officer.
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Those killed on the second floor were identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandson Akash Jain.
Three other family members – Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shailey Jain (48) and their son Samyak Jain (25) – were found dead on the third floor.
A woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead on the first floor while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
(With input from agencies)
