New Delhi: There was an eerie silence hanging over the blue-coloured four-storey building in Delhi’s Shastri Park Friday afternoon, hours after six people suffocated to death in a massive fire that was triggered by a mosquito repellant. The youngest victim was one-and-a-half-years-old.
According to police, the fatalities were caused by toxic fumes released from a mosquito coil that fell onto a mattress at night. The building which was home to 15 people had no fire escape.
Among the six who died include five tenants – a couple from Kanpur and three rickshaw pullers – and the toddler, Hamza, belonging to the building’s owners.
The house is owned by 46-year-old Akbar Ali and his brothers, Anna Ali (48), Asgar Ali (40), Azmat Ali (39), Haseen Ali (36) and Wajid Ali (45), all of whom have been living there since 2010. Tenants occupied the second- and third floors. Its owners, who own Shastri Market’s garment shop, used the fourth floor as a warehouse.
According to Akbar, the Kanpur couple who lived on the building’s third floor had shifted last month, while the three rickshaw pullers moved in only last week.
Family members ThePrint spoke to said the fire started on the building’s ground floor and tore through the levels above.
Akbar, who was on the ground floor when the incident took place, said he was alerted to the fire by his sister-in-law Sumaiya Begum, Hamza’s mother.
“I immediately rushed inside the room and brought out the children — 19-year-old Soni and one-and-a-half-year old Aram. Sumaila kept telling that Hamza was inside. But by the time I could get to him he was dead,” Akbar told ThePrint.
Akbar also said that his brother and Hamza’s father, Azmat, rushed those injured to the nearby Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.
“I woke up to smoke all over the room. I was on the 2nd floor. I ran to the door immediately with my three children. There was very low visibility and even the door was hot,” 38-year-old Aliya (identified by her first name), Akbar’s sister-in-law, told ThePrint.
Talking about Hamza, her nephew, Aliya said, “I did not know he was inside. The room was filled smoke. It was all invisible. I wish I could have saved him.”
Joy Tirkey DCP Northeast Delhi released this statement. She stated that she received a call from PCR at 8 AM Friday regarding the fire in Mazar Wala Road, Macchi Market, Shastri Park.
“Police rushed to the spot and found that the injured had been taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital. In total, nine people were involved. The incident occurred when a mosquito coil that was burning had fallen onto a mattress during the night. Inmates suffered from respiratory distress and eventually died due to the toxic fumes. Further investigation is on,” the statement read.
Two more victims are receiving treatment at the hospital.
In the meantime, Akbar and his brothers Asgar, Azmat, were brought to Shastri Park Police Station to be interrogated. The bodies were sent for postmortem at the hospital.
Also, read: ‘100 complaints of sexual, verbal & mental harassment’ at Kalakshetra, TN women’s panel to prosecute staffers