New Delhi: A man and his two children – a boy and a girl – were killed after jumping from the balcony, to escape a blaze in their seventh floor flat in Dwarka, Delhi, on Tuesday morning. Two other members were rescued by fire department personnel.
The minor children were the first to jump. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival. Their father Yash Yadav was the third person to jump off the balcony. He too was declared dead at the hospital.
According to officials, the fire broke out in the multi-storied apartment building in Sector 13 of Dwarka around 10 am. Initially, eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot, but as the magnitude of the fire increased, more help was sought by the fire department staff on the spot.
Among those rescued from the building are Yadav’s wife and elder son. They suffered burn injuries and have been admitted to hospital. All other residents have been successfully rescued from the building, authorities said.
The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, but electricity and PNG (pumped natural gas) connections to the building have been disconnected. Residents of the area claimed that dense smoke could be spotted from a distance. It emerged from the top floors. Flames could also be seen inside the seventh floor flat of the Yadavs.
“The three seem to have jumped out of desperation as the fire spread inside the flat and their access to the main entrance got cut off. The three jumped even as preparations were being made to evacuate people with the use of sky lifts and hydraulic ladders. Efforts are underway to ascertain the cause of the fire,” a police official said.
