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

New Delhi: Three members of a family, including two children, were killed when they jumped 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.

Earlier, the police had said that a man and his two children had died in the incident.

The fire started from the 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 (35), his 12-year-old daughter (12) and his 11-year-old nephew. They died after jumping off from the balcony of the eighth floor.

The family lives in a duplex on the top two floors of the building. "When the fire broke out, the family tried to escape by going to the ninth floor through stairs. However, the two little children were left behind and Yash returned to save them. Although, by that time, the fire had spread and they could not be saved," the officer added.

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

Two other people in the family, Yash's wife and his elder son (18) suffered injuries and were rushed to Akash Hospital.

Yadav's nephew along with a few other relatives had come to stay at his residence in Sector 13's Shapath Society for a religious event that was being held in Mohan Gardens nearby for two to three days.

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.

The fire could be seen from a long distance. 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.

Purported videos of the incident surfaced online 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.

A police officer said, "All residents of the society have been evacuated, and all essential services such as electricity and PNG connections have been shut down." DDA and MCD have been informed to assess the structural stability of the building, he said.

Residents who could rush out of the building prayed for the safety of those trapped inside. People on the sixth floor were seen smashing windows. However, some of the residents on the higher floors nearly escaped a tragedy.

We saw some residents trying to climb onto balconies and signal for help, a local said.

The firefighting operation is now over, a DFS official said.