A man is battling severe burns in a Delhi hospital after a devastating fire claimed the lives of nine of his family members, leaving him unaware of the tragedy.
Key Points
- Nine family members died in a Delhi residential building fire, while one survivor, Sachin, is in the ICU with severe burns.
- Sachin sustained injuries while attempting to escape the blaze and is currently unaware of his family's death.
- Medical officials at Safdarjang Hospital report Sachin is responsive but in severe pain, with serious burns to his hands, face, and legs.
- Neighbours who rescued Sachin stated he was the first to notice the fire and tried to alert others.
- A large firefighting and rescue operation was launched, involving fire tenders, ambulances, police, and NDRF personnel.
While the fierce blaze in a residential building claimed the lives of nine family members on Wednesday, Sachin (29), one of the surviving family members, sustained burns across his body.
He is currently admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), unaware of the death of his family members.
According to medical officials at the Safdarjang Hospital, Sachin was brought on Wednesday morning after he had sustained burn injuries throughout his body while trying to escape the severe blaze which engulfed the whole building and nearly half of the family.
"The patient is responsive but in severe pain. His hands, parts of his face and both legs have sustained serious burn injuries," a medical official said, adding, "We have kept him in the ICU and the patient will be under observation for the next 36 hours."
According to the neighbours who brought Sachin to the hospital, he was the first person in the family to notice the fire.
"We have not told him about the deaths," a neighbour said.
Sumit Jain (42), who is a long-time neighbour of the family and was present at the hospital, said that Sachin was the first one in the family to notice the fire.
"Sachin tried to open the gates and sustained burn injuries in both of his hands while trying to escape through the roof," Jain said, and added that many members of the family could not even reach the roof as thick plumes of black smoke had spread throughout the house and did not let the family escape.
"He is on oxygen support right now. His face has sustained burn injuries and his legs are injured while he tried to escape," Jain said.
Another neighbour, Deepak, who was present at the hospital, said that the fire was so severe that it could be observed from a nearby flyover.
"I was leaving for my office around 7 am when I noticed the thick ball of smoke coming from the building. Since I was familiar with the area and knew the building, I immediately rushed to the spot," he said.
The multi-storey building near Ram Chowk Market, close to the Palam Metro Station, has been gutted from the inside as nine members of the family that lived there, including three children, were killed in the blaze on Wednesday, with three others injured.
Rescue and Investigation
As part of a massive firefighting and rescue operation, around 30 fire tenders and 11 ambulances were pressed into service, along with personnel from the police, BSES, Air Force police and the NDRF.
The fire has since been doused, officials said, adding that the area has been cordoned off and a forensic team has been called to inspect the spot.
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