New Delhi, March 18 While the intense fire in a residential building claimed the lives of nine family members on Wednesday, Sachin (29), one of the surviving family members, sustained burns all over his body.
He is currently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), unaware of the deaths of his family members.
According to medical officials at the Safdarjang Hospital, Sachin was brought in on Wednesday morning after he had sustained burn injuries throughout his body while trying to escape the severe fire that engulfed the entire building and nearly half of the family.
"The patient is responsive but in severe pain. His hands, parts of his face, and both legs have sustained serious burn injuries," a medical official said, adding, "We have kept him in the ICU, and he will be under observation for the next 36 hours."
According to the neighbors who brought Sachin to the hospital, he was the first person in the family to notice the fire. "We haven't told him about the deaths," a neighbor said.
Sumit Jain (42), who is a long-time neighbor of the family and was present at the hospital, said that Sachin was the first one in the family to notice the fire.
"Sachin tried to open the gates and sustained burn injuries in both of his hands while trying to escape through the roof," Jain said, and added that many members of the family could not even reach the roof as thick plumes of black smoke had spread throughout the house and did not allow the family to escape.
"He is currently on oxygen support. His face has sustained burn injuries, and his legs are injured while he tried to escape," Jain said.
Another neighbor, Deepak, who was present at the hospital, said that the fire was so severe that it could be observed from a nearby flyover.
"I was leaving for my office around 7 am when I noticed the thick ball of smoke coming from the building. Since I was familiar with the area and knew the building, I immediately rushed to the spot," he said.
The multi-story 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 deployed, along with personnel from the police, BSES, Air Force police, and the NDRF.
The fire has since been extinguished, officials said, adding that the area has been cordoned off, and a forensic team has been called to inspect the scene.