A man and his two kids, aged 10, jumped from the seventh floor of their apartment after a massive fire broke out there in Delhi's Dwarka Sector 13 on Tuesday. All of them jumped from their flat in panic, but could not be saved.
First, the two kids, a boy and a girl, jumped, and later their father, Yash Yadav, also jumped from the balcony. He was declared dead at the IGI Hospital.
Yadav's wife and his niece were rushed to Akash Hospital with injuries. Yadav had flex board business, police said.
Police said the fire broke out in the eighth and ninth of the housing apartment located near MRV School. According to the Delhi Fire Service, the department received a call about the blaze at 10.01 am.
Initially, eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, but as the magnitude of the fire became evident, more engines were deployed.
"The fire could be seen from a long distance. Black smoke was billowing out of the upper floors, and flames were leaping out of the seventh-floor flat," a fire officer said.
Locals Cry For Help After Fire In Dwarka Sector 13
Passersby filmed the fire on their mobile phones, while locals could be heard crying for help. "God help them!" a video recorded by a woman from an adjacent building had a voice say.
"All residents of the society have been evacuated, and all essential services such as electricity and PNG connections have been shut down," said a police officer. DDA and MCD have been informed to assess the structural stability of the building, he said.
Residents who could rush out of the building prayed for the safety of those trapped inside. People on the sixth floor were seen smashing windows.
"Those who were on the lower floors managed to evacuate quickly. But those higher up had a harrowing time. We saw some residents trying to climb onto balconies and signal for help," a local said.
Firefighting operations were still underway.