3 of family killed in latest Delhi fire, 'had called for help for nearly 40 minutes before collapsing'

ADischarge tore through and through a five-storey residential edifice in sou'-east new delhi’s Tughlakabad Extension around 2.30am on Friday, killing three members of one family and critically injuring two others as most residents slept, police and local residents said.The building offered almost no way out, according to a senior fire department official, who asked not to be named. Ten flats had been packed onto a 100-square-yard (900 sq ft) plot, two to a floor. The roof was kept locked. There were no fire exits, no ventilation and no fire safety equipment. A basement housed a plastic godown.ALSO READ | Ladders, saree pulleys: Neighbours turn rescuers after fire at building in Delhi's Tughlakabad Rescuers said the cramped layout gave the smoke nowhere to disperse once the fire took hold, trapping those on the upper floors. The three fatalities were among people on the fourth floor.A preliminary inquiry suggests the blaze began on the ground floor in an electrical short circuit, deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said. “It’s suspected the flames rapidly spread after engulfing seven parked two-wheelers, including an electric scooter that was reportedly being charged at the time,” he said, but did not elaborate on whether the EV or its charger sparked the blaze.Police stressed that this was a preliminary assessment and that the exact cause would be established only after a forensic examination.A senior officer aware of the early clues from the probe said the fire appears to have had started from the electric scooter.A case has been registered against unknown person under section 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 287 (negligent conduct with respect to fire) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Govindpuri police station.Standalone residential buildings in the capital are not allowed to exceed five storeys, making the structure involved in Friday’s incident illegal. It was also in a colony that is classified as UR, or unauthorised/regularised –– the classification for previously unauthorised colony that were regularised over recent years.The fire is the third deadly building-safety failure in the Capital in barely a fortnight, each at a structure operating outside the rules. On May 30, a building in Saidulajab collapsed as two floors were raised illegally over four existing storeys, killing six people. On June 3, a fire at a Hauz Rani bed-and-breakfast that was running 25 rooms against a sanctioned six — with no fire exit and a permanently sealed facade — killed 23.Friday’s three deaths take the toll across the three sites to 32.Tughlakabad Extension, across the road from Tara Apartments, is a warren of narrow lanes lined with five- and six-storey buildings, most of them with commercial premises on the ground floor.The building was unremarkable for the neighbourhood, and for similar colonies across the Capital, where millions live in settlements like Tughlakabad Extension — dense, low-cost and built upward on small plots, many of them tracing their origins to unauthorised colonies that were never raised to code. Their streets are lined with buildings packed wall to wall, served by single narrow staircases, their terraces frequently locked or built over. Many of those lanes are too narrow for a fire tender to enter.The police control room received a PCR call at 2.31am, Tiwari said. Local teams, four fire tenders and CATS ambulances were rushed to the spot, but thick smoke had already engulfed the structure, making evacuation difficult. “Eight residents trapped inside were pulled out and taken to Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS Trauma Centre,” he said. According to police, around 15-20 people were inside the building at the time of the incident.The dead were identified as Sushila Devi, 70; her grandson Pankaj Pandey, 28; and her granddaughter Soni, 20. Her 18-year-old granddaughter, Mani, and her 50-year-old daughter remain critical.The toll could have been far higher but for the neighbours, several of whom went into the smoke to pull people out. Among them was Renu Bhutani, 45, who was awake and watching television when the fire broke out. She and her son, who live on the adjacent street, reached the roof of the burning building from the terrace of the two-storey building abutting it.With roughly three storeys between the two rooftops, they lashed two wooden ladders together to bridge the gap and climbed across, two others steadying the ladders from below.The rooftop door was locked. “My son had to break it open with a rock,” Bhutani said. They punctured the building’s water tanks, doused themselves against the heat and smoke, and went in — down to the fifth floor, where they knocked on a flat and brought out two girls trapped inside.Pankaj and his family had been on a fourth-floor balcony at the front of the building, neighbours said, calling for help for nearly 40 minutes before they collapsed. Police and the fire department declined to comment on the duration, confirming only that the family had been calling for help.Pankaj had bought the flat in 2024, his uncle, Suresh Chand Pandey, said. “He really wanted to buy the house for his mother and sisters, so he did,” he said. “He was taking care of all of them — their education, and saving for their marriages too.”Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta posted on X: “The loss of lives in the fire incident in Tughlakabad is deeply saddening. Heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured and strength to all those affected by this tragedy. Teams of Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, DDMA, CATS Ambulance Services and other emergency response agencies immediately rushed to the site and are engaged in rescue and relief operations. The Delhi Government is closely monitoring the situation, and all concerned departments are working in coordination to provide timely support and assistance.”