Delhi fire: Locked terrace door, iron grills trapped families

Delhi fire: Locked terrace door, iron grills trapped families

A fire in a residential building in Vivek Vihar, Delhi, on Sunday morning killed nine people.

The incident took place around 3:30am when most residents were asleep.

The blaze quickly spread through the second, third, and fourth floors of the building, trapping many inside.

The only staircase was blocked by a locked door on the terrace, while the balconies had iron grills, leaving residents with no escape routes.

Two families among dead

Among the dead were two families: Arvind Jain (60), Anita Jain (58), Nishant Jain (35), Anchal Jain (33), and their one-year-old grandson, Akash, from the second floor.

From the third floor, the victims were Nitin Jain (50), Shailey Jain (48), and their son Samyak.

Shikha Jain (45) was found dead on the first floor, while her husband, Naveen, was injured.

The fire spread to an adjacent building due to no gap between them.

Cause of fire yet to be officially ascertained

Firefighters managed to douse the flames by 8:00am with fire tenders.

During rescue operations, around 10-15 people were evacuated safely. Two injured persons were rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital for treatment. Nine others were declared brought dead at the hospital.

A resident named Rohit told ANI that an air-conditioner blast caused the fire.

The police are investigating further into this tragic incident.