Businessman, 2 children killed in massive fire in multi-storey apartment in Delhi's Dwarka

New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) Three members of a family, including two children, were killed when they jumped out of a balcony to escape a massive fire that broke out in their eighth and ninth-floor duplex flat in Delhi's Dwarka area on Tuesday morning, police said.

The fire started from a temple located on the eighth floor of the building and quickly spread through PVC panels, a senior police official said.

The deceased were identified as Yash Yadav (41), his daughter Ashima (12) and his nephew Shivam Yadav (11).

The family lives in a duplex on the top two floors of the building. Yadav, who along with his family shifted to Delhi 10 years ago, is a native of Uttar Pradesh's Etah.

The official said that Yadav's sister, her children and sister-in-law gathered at his flat in Dwarka's Shabad Apartment in Sector 13 after attending a religious event (Bhagwat Katha). There were 12 people in the house at the time of the incident.

When the fire broke out around 9.30 am, all members of the family tried to escape by going to the ninth floor through the stairs. However, Ashima and Shivam got trapped, and Yash returned to save them, police said. They took shelter on the eighth-floor balcony, believing it would be safer than staying inside as the stairs were also engulfed in flames.

"When the fire spread, balcony window panes shattered and intense flames burnt Yadav's face and arms," his relative Yogesh Yadav said.

According to Yogesh, Yadav jumped first and moments later, both Ashima and Shivam also jumped off the balcony. Several purported videos of the incident that surfaced online showed them jumping off the building.

The children were rushed to Akash Hospital where they were declared dead. Yash was rushed to IGI Hospital and was declared dead.

Two other people in the family, Yash's wife and his elder son (18) have also suffered injuries.

Yadav's sister and nephew along with a few other relatives had come to stay at his residence for a religious event that was being held in Mohan Gardens nearby for two to three days.

"Bhagwat Katha was being held at his sister's house about 3 kilometres away, and the family had returned late Sunday night to rest. No one could imagine this would happen," said Yadav's friend Amit Bhandari, who could barely hold back tears.

Visuals from the site show the building engulfed in flames with people standing in their balconies and crying for help.

According to the Delhi Fire Service, the department received a call about the blaze at 10.01 am. Initially, eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, but as the magnitude of the fire became evident, more engines were deployed.

Black smoke was billowing out of the upper floors, and flames were leaping out of the flat, a fire officer present at the spot said.

Several videos of the incident surfaced on social media and showed passersby filming the fire on their mobile phones.

"God help them!" a video recorded by a woman from an adjacent building had a voice say.

Family members alleged the fire brigade reached the spot late. "Many calls were made to the fire department, but their teams rushed to the spot at least after 45 minutes. There was hardly any equipment installed for fire safety," Yogesh Yadav, a relative of Yash Yadav alleged.

A police officer said that when the incident took place, all essential services such as electricity and PNG connections were shut down. He said that DDA and MCD have been informed to assess the structural stability of the building.

"Yadav was a sharp person. When he was sitting idle during COVID-19, he launched his interior design business as flex printing was not working at that time. He was a very jolly man, and was kind and helpful," Yadav's friend Bhandari said.

Many locals who witnessed the entire incident blamed security guards for closing the main door of the society.

"The security guards closed the doors when we were going inside to help. After several requests, they opened the door and we rushed inside to help others," a resident who requested anonymity said. PTI BM SSJ BUN HIG