Nine people died in a massive fire in a four-storey building in the very posh Vivek Vihar area of the national capital. Five of these people belonged to the same family. The cause of the fire is being said to be explosion in AC. This tragic accident happened at 3:48 am on Sunday. Police, disaster management teams and 14 fire tenders reached the spot and brought the fire under control after four hours of hard work.
Rescue workers rescued 15 people safely, while six people sustained burn injuries, one of whom is in critical condition. Two daughters saved their lives by jumping from the second floor. Among the dead are four women and an innocent child of one and a half years.
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Families of those killed in Delhi fire mourning – Photo: PTI
Shahdara Police Deputy Commissioner Rajendra Prasad Meena said, there are eight flats in the four-storey building located at number B-13 of Vivek Vihar Phase-1. Different families live in these. Prima facie the fire started from a flat on the second floor at the rear. Naveen Jain lived in this flat with his wife Shikha, two daughters Rakshita alias Pari and Priyal.
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The fire broke out in this building – Photo: PTI
For some days, Shikha’s elderly mother Darshana and father Arun Jain have also come for treatment. It is suspected that the fire broke out in their flat after an AC blast. When smoke spread in the building, there was panic. The fire quickly engulfed the flats above.
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The fire started due to AC explosion in this building – Photo: PTI
Firefighters said the intensity of the fire was high in the four rear flats of the building. Nine bodies have been recovered and handed over to the police. Vivek Vihar police station has registered the case. Crime and forensic teams have collected evidence from the spot.
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The fire started due to AC explosion in this building – Photo: PTI
Shikha lost her life to save her mother
As soon as the fire broke out, Shikha and Naveen started evacuating the family members. First evicted the father. Both the daughters and Shikha’s mother Darshana got trapped. Naveen asked both the daughters to jump from the second floor. Mattresses had already been placed below. Both the daughters jumped on the mattresses, which saved their lives. Meanwhile, Shikha started saving her mother. She managed to rescue her mother, but she herself got trapped and died. Naveen also got burnt.
