At least two children and a couple died due to suffocation after a massive fire ripped through a residential building in the Shastri Nagar area of Shahdara in the early hours on Thursday, news agency PTI reported, citing police. The victims have been identified as Manoj (30), his wife Suman (25), and their two nieces aged 10 and seven years. Eleven others suffered burns.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Surendra Choudhary said, "We got information from the hospital that four people -- two children and a couple -- died due to suffocation and burn injuries. As per preliminary on-spot observation by the FSL team, spark in the electric wire could be the reason for the fire. Further investigation is on," as quoted by PTI.
The officer further stated that they received a call around 5:20 am about the fire in the Shastri Nagar area of Shahdara. The Delhi Fire Services was informed immediately. A local police team, nine fire tenders, ambulances, and PCR vans were rushed to the spot.
According to the police, four of the severely injured persons identified as Baby (32), Nandu (25), Rakesh Kumar (34), and Iafra, aged two-and-a-half years old, were referred to the GTB Hospital.
The police said that Prashant (28), Aqib (24), Yashoda (36), Shifada (24), Jagrit (nine), Bulbul (27), and Rajni (28) were undergoing treatment for burns in different units of Dr Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan.
Police said the building where the fire broke out has four floors and there is a car parking area on the ground floor, as reported by PTI. They said the fire started from the parking lot and the smoke engulfed the entire building.
"Even though the street is narrow, fire officials managed to reach the spot on time and douse the flames. A search was conducted on each floor. Three men, four women, and two children were sent to Dr Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan hospital," the officer said, as quoted by PTI.
Police stated that they later received information from the hospital that four people -- two children and a couple -- were dead. According to the police, a car and a motorcycle were gutted in the fire and blocked the building entrance.
Witnesses said since the entrance was blocked due to the fire, survivors had to run to the terrace and had to jump on the terraces of adjacent buildings to save their lives.
An eyewitness Aman Singh said, "It was so horrible. People were screaming for saving their lives. They went to the terrace and jumped on the terraces of the neighbouring buildings," as quoted by PTI. Another eyewitness, Vijay Sharma, said the firefighters doused the flames in half-an-hour, but due to the smoke and fire in the main exit area, people could not leave the building immediately.