Three members of a family were killed while two others, including a 70-year-old woman, were critically injured after a fire broke out in a five-storey residential building in southeast Delhi's Govindpuri area in the early hours of Friday, police said.
According to police, a PCR call regarding the blaze was received at Govindpuri police station at around 2.31 am. The fire erupted in a residential building in Tughlakabad Extension.
"A coordinated evacuation effort was carried out as heavy smoke engulfed the building, trapping several residents inside. Eight occupants were rescued from the structure and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.
The deceased were identified as Pankaj (28), his mother Guddi (50), and his sister Soni (20), all residents of the third floor of the building, police said.
Police and locals managed to rescue residents of the other floors on time.
Two other family members - Moni (18), another sister of Pankaj, and his 70-year-old maternal grandmother - sustained critical injuries and are undergoing treatment, police said.
Preliminary inquiry suggests that the fire may have originated due to an electrical short circuit on the ground floor of the building.
"I woke up after hearing loud cries for help and rushed outside. I saw that the fire was in the parked two-wheelers inside the building, but the smoke spread rapidly through the structure. Residents formed a human chain, carrying buckets of water to help people evacuate. Police and fire brigade arrived shortly afterwards and began rescuing those trapped inside," said Rajender Kumar, an eyewitness.
The incident comes a week after a massive fire broke out in a bed and breakfast hotel in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar, killing at least 21 people. Several of those killed were foreigners, mainly from Central Asian and African countries.
