New Delhi: The Delhi’s Pitampura house fire left only one survivor, Sahil, who witnessed the tragic incident that claimed six lives, including his father, mother and sister.
The victims were identified as Rakesh Gupta, 62, his wife Renu Gupta, 62, Shweta, 30, Kirti, 25, Shanu Verma, 27, and Santosh, 25, all residents of a four-storey building where the fire broke out on the first and second floors.
Residing on the third floor, Sahil noticed smoke emerging from the lower floors of the building and rushed to the terrace to assess the situation on Thursday.
To his horror, he found that a fire had engulfed the first and second floors of the building. Frantically calling for help, Sahil’s neighbours responded to his distress cries and gathered outside the ill-fated building.
Attempting to rescue his parents, Sahil encountered a chilling obstacle — the electronic door, operated by a switch, had malfunctioned, rendering it unopenable even manually.
The deceased Rakesh Gupta’s brother-in-law, Sunil Aggarwal, shared this heartbreaking detail outside the mortuary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital with IANS.
Upon notifying the Fire department, the arrival of fire tenders was delayed, prompting neighbours to lend a hand by pouring water through pipes on the building. Unfortunately, their efforts proved futile in extinguishing the relentless flames.
Tragedy unfolded on the fourth floor as sisters Kirti and Shanu Verma, along with their cook Santosh, attempted to escape by opening their windows. However, smoke from the first and second floors spread to their home, leading to their untimely demise.
A similar fate befell senior citizens Rakesh Gupta, his wife Renu Gupta, and their daughter Shweta on the third floor. Firefighters, upon reaching the spot, discovered the lifeless bodies on the third and fourth floors before successfully rescuing Sahil, who was stranded on the terrace.
Santosh, on the fourth floor of the ill-fated four-storey building in northwest Delhi, has left his wife, Anita, bereft of hope for the future.
“I have a four-year-old daughter. Who will provide for us now? Santosh was the sole breadwinner,” said Anita.
Santosh, employed as a cook, worked for sisters Shanu and Kirti, residents of the fourth floor of the building.
Recalling the events leading up to the tragedy, Anita said that Santosh had reached the house around 6 p.m. and was in the middle of preparing food when the fire broke out.
“I called my husband around 7 p.m. to inquire about his meal preferences. He told me to cook whatever I liked. When I called again around 8 p.m. to confirm his arrival time, there was no response. It wasn’t until around 9:30 p.m. that I tried calling him once more, only to find his phone unreachable,” said Anita, highlighting the profound impact of the tragedy on her life and the uncertainty that now looms over her family’s future.
–IANS