- Fire broke out early Sunday in a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar, Delhi, killing nine people
- The blaze affected flats on the second, third, and fourth floors, with 12-15 people rescued
- Cause of fire unclear; suspected reasons include an AC blast or a short circuit
Leaving little time to escape, the fire that broke out in Delhi's Vivek Vihar building in the early hours of Sunday spread quickly while several residents were asleep, witnesses said. The cause is yet to be officially confirmed, but a resident claimed an air conditioner blast may have triggered the blaze.
At least nine people were killed in the fire at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar, with victims found across multiple floors of the building. On the second floor's back side, five members of a family were among the victims, Arvind (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishant Jain (35), his wife Anchal Jain (33), and their 18 months old child, Akash Jain.
On the first floor, Shikha Jain (45), wife of Naveen Jain, was also found dead.
Another family living on the third floor was killed in the fire, including Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shailey Jain (48), and their son Samyak Jain (25). Meanwhile, Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries in the incident.
A resident, Rohit, while speaking to news agency ANI, said, "A blast in the AC triggered the fire... Around 12-15 were rescued. However, 4-5 people are still missing. The fire started at around 03:13 am... Fire tenders arrived at around 3:35 am... Efforts are being made to extinguish the fire."
Another resident, Charanjit Singh, said, "Around 10 fire tenders have reached the spot so far. Nearly 20 people have been rescued by the fire department, who used ladders placed against balconies to evacuate them. However, residents of two flats located at the back side of the top floor could not come out. One lapse was that while people from the front-side flats were rescued, they should have alerted others in the building about the fire so that they could have escaped in time."
"The fire broke out in the building at around 3:30 am. It appears that after the fire started, people in the back-side flats remained asleep and could not react. The building has a total of eight flats, and the families living in the two flats on the top floor have not been able to come out and are still believed to be inside," he added.
Another resident, who lost a friend and his family in the incident, said the fire took nearly two hours to be brought under control.
"The fire broke out on the second floor of the building, and that is why no one had the chance to escape. It is suspected to be a short circuit; however, the investigation is underway. My friend and his family were killed in the incident. Several lives have been lost. The fire was so huge that it took two hours for the fire officials to control it," a local told news agency IANS.
15 People Rescued
Fire officials said the blaze spread across household items in at least six flats in the building. During the operation, nine charred bodies were recovered from different locations, one from the first floor, five from the second floor, and three from a locked staircase. The bodies were later handed over to the Delhi Police.
According to the Delhi Police, the fire affected flats on the second, third and fourth floors. Around 10-15 people were rescued, of whom two with minor injuries were taken to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
A total of 12 fire tenders were deployed at the spot, along with teams from the DDMA, traffic police, and local police.
BJP MLA Sanjay Goel said the fire in the Vivek Vihar building may have been caused by a short circuit, even as there is no official confirmation yet on the exact reason behind the blaze.
Speaking to ANI, Goel said, "This is a very sad incident... The incident happened in the building situated in Block B of Vivek Vihar. There are 8 flats in the building. Because of a short circuit, at around 3:45 am, the fire started and spread to all 4 floors of the building. Because some people were unable to open the lock, they lost their lives..."
He added, "Bodies are being taken to the mortuary of GTB Hospital for identification. Some bodies have been converted into skeletons... Their identification will be done through DNA sampling. Police have taken photographs of the bodies for their identification... A short circuit is said to be the main cause behind this incident; however, some are saying it happened because of a blast in the AC."
Local Municipal Councillor Pankaj Luthra said that search and rescue operations are still ongoing. He said the victims were found across multiple floors of the building, and their identification is yet to be established, pending further investigation and DNA testing.
Speaking to ANI, Luthra said, "Upon receiving the information, I rushed to the scene immediately. Upon arrival, I went straight upstairs. I have just come down from the upper floors. On the back side of the second floor, five bodies were found. Another body was found on the back side, and three bodies were located on the top floor. Identification is currently impossible."
He added that officials are continuing their checks, but the identity and even the gender of the victims cannot be confirmed until DNA tests are completed.
"We are still conducting further checks, but until DNA testing is performed, we will be unable to determine the gender of the victims... A total of nine bodies have been confirmed. We are still checking for others. People are attributing this to a short circuit, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet regarding the exact cause of the incident," he further said.
