New Delhi, Mar 18: Nine members of a family, including three children, died after a fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in southwest Delhi’s Palam area on Wednesday morning, officials said.
Three others were injured, two of them jumped from the building at Ram Chowk Market near Palam Metro Station in a desperate attempt to escape the flames, they said.
The five-storey building had a cloth and cosmetic showroom on the ground and first floor, while the family of the owner of the showroom, Rajender Kashyap, lived on the second and third floors.
Information regarding the blaze was received at 7:04 am at Palam Village police station, following which teams rushed to the spot.
Among the people who were rescued from the building, nine were declared dead at the hospital.
Pravesh (33), Kamal, (39), Ashu (35) Lado (70 ), Himanshi (22), Deepika (28) and three minor girls aged 15, six and three — were identified to have died in the fire.
Anil, 32, and one girl aged two are under treatment and Sachin (29) was being treated for 25 per cent burn injuries at Safdarjung Hospital.
Around 30 fire tenders and 11 ambulances were pressed into service, along with personnel from the police, BSES, Air Force police and the NDRF, as part of a massive firefighting and rescue operation.
Visuals from the scene showed thick plumes of black smoke billowing out of the building and rising into the sky, with flames engulfing parts of the structure as firefighters battled the blaze in the congested market area.
Firefighters carried out intensive search and rescue operations, navigating through narrow lanes and smoke-filled interiors to evacuate those trapped inside. The fire has since been doused, officials said.
The area has been cordoned off and a forensic team has been called to inspect the spot. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Further investigation is underway, police said. (PTI)
