The fire, which broke out between 3:13 a.m. and 3:47 a.m., spread with terrifying speed through multiple apartments on the second, third and fourth floors.
A massive fire broke out in a four-storey residential building in Delhi Vivek Vihar area in Shahdara in the early hours of Sunday. At least nine people were killed, including a young child.
The fire, which broke out between 3:13 a.m. and 3:47 a.m., spread with terrifying speed through multiple apartments on the second, third and fourth floors. Eyewitnesses reported that the fire trapped residents on grilled balconies and smoke-choked staircases. It took more than five hours to finally control the inferno.
“The residents are trapped and the balcony is grilled.”
Mayanak, a resident of the first floor, said he woke up to the frantic ringing of the doorbell. He told HT: “I was sleeping when the neighbors came and rang the doorbell several times. When I woke up, I saw the back of the building on fire. I somehow managed to escape from my house. The entire staircase was blocked due to the fire. The residents of the apartments at the back of the building were trapped because there was no escape. Their balcony was blocked by a net.”
“The fire reached our sofas.”
“We were stuck inside for an hour and a half. We were rescued by the fire department,” Ruchi Arora, a resident of the first floor, told HT.
Silke, who lives on the third floor, remembers how she narrowly escaped when the flames approached. “We stayed for a long time on our balcony until the fire department installed the Skylift and brought us down. The fire reached our drawing room and sofas. We were rescued within five minutes,” she told HT.
Emergency services were delayed
Another resident, Navami Jha (17 years old), said she called emergency services but faced delays. “I called 112 at 3:50 am. 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 business and gave me three numbers. All of them were down. The fire department and police came after about 15 minutes. By then, we tried to rescue people by placing mattresses and two little girls were rescued,” she told HT.
Officials said the fire quickly spread through household items and engulfed at least six apartments. Fourteen Fire engines were deployed, and rescue teams from the Delhi Fire Service, police and disaster management authorities worked throughout the morning to evacuate the trapped residents.
Nine dead
Several people were rescued while the bodies of others were later found during search operations after the fire was extinguished.
Among the dead were three members of a family from the third floor, Nitin Jain (50 years old), his wife Shaili Jain (48 years old), and their son Samyak Jain (25 years old). Other victims included residents, including an elderly couple, a young couple, and a young child, from the second floor. Officials said the bodies were recovered from different parts of the building, including the stairs and apartments.
Resident Naveen Jain suffered burns of more than 40%. He was admitted to Safdurjung Hospital.
What caused the fire?
Some people doubt the air conditioner The explosion may have been the cause of the fire. “An explosion in the air conditioner started the fire. About 12-15 people were rescued. However, 4-5 people are still missing. The fire started around 03:13 am. Fire engines arrived around 3:35 am. Efforts are being made to extinguish the fire,” Rohit, a local resident, told news agency ANI.
Charanjit Singh, another resident, said about 20 people were rescued through balconies, but many may still be trapped. He added: “More than 10 vehicles (fire engines) arrived. The fire brigade rescued about 20 people through the balcony, but I think some people from the back apartments were still able to get out. I think one or two families are still under the building.”
Chief Minister of Delhi Rekha Gupta described the incident as “extremely tragic”, saying it had left her “deeply sad”.
