Nine dead as massive fire breaks outin residential building in east Delhi

A fire ripped through a residential building in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar early Sunday, leaving nine people from two families dead, including a toddler, officials said. The incident was reported at 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
The blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting frantic rescue efforts.
With the terrace door locked, the building occupants found it difficult to escape the leaping flames.
Twelve fire tenders were pressed into service, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in evacuation and rescue efforts. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), nine charred bodies were recovered from different parts of the building. “One body was recovered from the first floor, five from the second floor and three from the staircase which was found locked,” a DFS officer said.
Those killed on the second floor were identified as Arvind Jain (60), his wife Anita Jain (58), their son Nishant Jain (35), daughter-in-law Anchal Jain (33) and grandchild Akash Jain. On the third floor, three members of another family — Nitin Jain (50), his wife Shailey Jain (48) and their son Samyak Jain (25) — were found dead. On the first floor, a woman identified as Shikha Jain (45) was found dead, while her husband Naveen Jain (48) sustained injuries.
A senior police officer said around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the building during the operation. Two persons with minor injuries were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.
Flames had engulfed large portions of the structure, with thick plumes of smoke spreading across the locality and reducing visibility.
Fire fighters said screams could be heard from those trapped inside the building as they battled for hours to bring the blaze under control.
A firefighter involved in the operation said the intensity of the blaze was significantly higher in the rear portion of the building.
“The fire intensity was higher in the four flats at the rear as compared to the front portion. So far, we have recovered nine bodies and handed them over to Delhi Police. It is difficult to provide details at this stage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condoled the loss of lives in the east Delhi building fire and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured.