New Delhi, March 19 A relative of the nine family members who died in a fire in a multi-story building in the Palam area here said on Thursday that many of them died due to suffocation, as there were no visible injuries on their bodies.
Ramesh Soni, whose nephew owns a jewelry shop next to the building that caught fire on Wednesday, said that in a desperate attempt to save themselves, the family members rushed to the upper floors and apparently, opened bathroom taps, hoping to escape the blaze.
"The bodies were brought down in front of us. Most of them died due to suffocation. There were barely any visible injuries," Soni said.
A neighbor, Amit, also said that the victims appeared to have been overcome by the smoke within minutes. "Very thick smoke had filled the entire building, and it was visible from outside. People inside must have struggled to breathe," he said.
Another shop owner in the area said that the incident unfolded quickly, leaving those inside the building with little chance to escape.
"By the time anyone could approach to help, the fire had spread. When we tried to break the walls and the shutters, only smoke came out. If the fire engine had worked properly, more people would have been saved," he said.
According to locals, the building housed commercial establishments, including a cloth and cosmetics business, on the lower floors, while the family lived on the upper levels.
The fire broke out in the four-story structure located in a congested lane near the Palam metro station. Nine members of a family, including a 70-year-old woman and three girls, one of whom was just three years old, lost their lives, while three people were injured while attempting to escape.
Residents also pointed to the challenges posed by the narrow lanes, saying access to the building was difficult during the rescue operations.
Locals further alleged that of the three fire tenders that initially reached the spot, only one was operational at the time, though officials have not confirmed this.