NEW DELHI: Four people, including a man and his sister, died after a massive fire engulfed a four-storey residential building in south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar on Saturday evening. The blaze spread rapidly through the structure, leaving residents trapped inside with little chance to escape. In a desperate attempt to save herself, one woman jumped from the terrace and was injured.Fire officials said the building had no fire safety arrangement. Two of the deceased were identified as 38-year-old Satender Gupta and his sister, 40-year-old Anita. Efforts are on to identify the other two victims whose bodies were charred beyond recognition. A woman, 40-year-old Mamta, suffered 25% burns and was rescued by fire officials.
The Tigri police station got to know about the fire on Mangal Bazaar Road at 6.24pm. By the time police reached the spot, the building was engulfed in flames. “The fire appeared to have originated from a footwear shop on the ground floor. Three casualties were found at the spot while two injured women were rescued and shifted to hospital. One of them succumbed to her injuries during treatment,” an officer said. Police are investigating the reason behind the fire.Delhi Fire Services sent four fire tenders and 20 firefighters. According to an official, a family lived in a room adjacent to the shop. “In that room, we found two charred bodies. One charred body was removed before we reached the spot. Several people were evacuated from the upper floors by local people,” he said.The firefighting operation was severely hindered by the building’s unsafe and poorly planned structure, officials said. “There were no fire safety arrangement. The building had only a single entry-and-exit point, a narrow staircase and almost no ventilation. The entire escape route was filled with thick smoke, leaving those inside with no safe passage,” the official added.The fire quickly spread upward. By the time it was brought under control, the building’s exterior had turned pitch black. Fire officials said household items fuelled the fire inside. It was doused at 7.55pm.
