New Delhi: A hotel fire in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar on Wednesday morning which killed 21 people, included eight members of a Gurugram family who had come to the capital to visit an ailing relative at a nearby hospital.
The family, staying on the hotel’s first floor, were overcome when the blaze began, leaving them little opportunity to escape. Relatives later learned all eight had died after being taken to Max Hospital, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The dead from the Gurugram party included 47‑year‑old chartered accountant Vivek Agarwal of Sector 46; his mother Premlata; his wife, 42‑year‑old Tarini Agarwal; daughters Angel alias Jivisa, 17, and Pearl alias Baria, 20; and relatives Kamla Goyal, Jhumri Lal Goyal and Ashok Goyal. Relatives said one of the younger girls had recently passed her Class 10 exams.
Vivek had travelled with his family to see his father, Radhe Shyam Agarwal, in his late 70s, who was admitted at Max Hospital, located about 500 metres from the hotel. Relatives said the elder couple, Jhumri Lal and Kamla Goyal, had arrived from Ajmer around 4 am and were asleep when the fire occurred. The family had reportedly booked two adjoining rooms on the first floor, where the blaze and ensuing smoke trapped them.
“It all happened so suddenly. I had spoken to Vivek last evening asking about his father. Someone in the family saw a news alert this morning about a fire in Malviya Nagar. By around 1 pm, we realised it was them. We rushed to the hotel and were told everyone had been shifted to Max Hospital. When we reached, we found out that all of them had died,” a relative waiting for the body at Max Hospital said.
Another relative said there were delays and confusion at the hospital while trying to locate the victims. “We tried to enter the burn ward, but authorities told us there were mostly foreign nationals admitted. I insisted on checking, and after repeated requests, I found one of Vivek’s daughters inside. Only then did the staff acknowledge the mistake and apologise,” the relative said.
More than 20 family members of Vivek and Tarini gathered at Max Hospital and the AIIMS mortuary during the day as authorities coordinated recovery and identification of bodies.
Neighbours in Gurugram described Vivek Agarwal as a community‑minded resident active in RWA affairs. “He was always active in RWA matters and very approachable. His wife also ran an NGO,” neighbour Yogeder Yadav said.
