New Delhi, March 18 As a fierce fire in a residential building claimed the lives of nine members of his family on Wednesday, a man along with his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter jumped from the third floor in a desperate attempt to save themselves after a rescue ladder could not reach them.
During their attempt to escape the fire, the child sustained fractures in both legs, while her father suffered injuries to his head, and both of them are admitted in Safdarjung Hospital.
Heartbreaking scenes unfolded as nine members of the family, including three children, died in the blaze that broke out in the five-storey building in Palam that housed a cloth and cosmetic showroom on the ground and first floor, while the family of the owner, Rajender Kashyap, lived on the second and third floors.
Narrating the incident, a neighbour said that a ladder had been placed up to the second floor. Anil, 32, who was on the third floor, attempted to climb down with his daughter, but the ladder did not reach them.
"With the fire flaring up suddenly and the situation turning critical, Anil tried to lower the child while holding her, and amid the chaos, the child slipped from his grasp and fell, sustaining fractures in both legs," the neighbour said.
They also alleged that there was no netting or cushioning below. When some people tried to jump, they fell straight to the ground.
From the second floor, Anil threw his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter down, hoping someone would catch her. However, the rescue personnel failed to catch her, and the child hit the ground. The impact twisted her body, possibly due to wires or obstructions below.
Following this, the father also jumped and hit a vehicle parked below, suffering injuries to his head.
He further said that another family member, Sachin, 29, managed to reach the rooftop and jumped onto a neighbouring house, but sustained burn injuries on his hands during the escape.
The five-storey building housed 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.
According to the eyewitness, the house had a single entry and exit and was rendered completely inaccessible due to the thick plumes of smoke which had completely engulfed the building.
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.
Neighbours of the family that got trapped in a fire in Delhi's Palam area said they made frantic attempts to get them out by attempting to break windows and a portion of the wall of the building.
Neighbours also alleged that no safety nets or cushioning arrangements were put in place. The fire tender which arrived initially did not work, and another fire tender took 50 minutes to reach the spot, which delayed the rescue operation.
The multi-storey building near Ram Chowk Market, close to the Palam Metro Station, has been gutted from the inside as nine members of the family that lived there, including three children, were killed in the blaze on Wednesday, with three others injured.
As part of a massive firefighting and rescue operation, around 30 fire tenders and 11 ambulances were pressed into service, along with personnel from the police, BSES, Air Force police and the NDRF.
The fire has since been doused, officials said, adding that the area has been cordoned off and a forensic team has been called to inspect the spot.
