Residents and eyewitnesses on Wednesday alleged that fire tenders reached the blaze site in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar late, claiming that several lives could have been saved had the response been quicker, even as the Delhi Fire Service rejected the charge.
According to the police, 21 people were killed while several others were injured after a massive fire broke out at a bed-and-breakfast hotel in the Hauz Rani locality.
Anjum, who owns a building opposite the gutted structure, said she first sensed something was wrong when she went to her father’s room early in the morning to give him medicine.
“We smelled something, but we thought it might be something else. Then a spark occurred, and the building soon caught fire. Fire brigades were called around 8 am, but they arrived late. If they could have come earlier, casualties could have been prevented,” she claimed.
She said many occupants suffered severe burn injuries, and several others tried to escape by jumping from the building.
“People were very badly injured and burned. People saved themselves by jumping from the building,” Anjum said.
Another resident alleged that the neighbourhood residents had to take the lead in rescue efforts before emergency teams arrived.
“People from nearby buildings tried to rescue those trapped using ropes and provided mattresses so they could jump out of the building immediately,” he said.
“We could not even stay inside our own houses because of the heat and smoke. If the impact outside was so severe, how could the people trapped inside survive?” the resident added.
However, a Delhi Fire Service officer denied any delay in the response.
“We received a call at 8.50 am and immediately rushed seven vehicles to the spot. The rescue operation was also carried out without delay. There was no delay from the fire department,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer said that 10 police personnel sustained injuries while saving others and were rushed to the hospital.
“Without thinking even for a moment, police personnel launched an immediate rescue work. Our teams rushed to the spot after the PCR call was received,” the officer told PTI.
The injured personnel were Head Constables Kartar (32), Hargyan (40), Prem Chand (40), Jitendra (40) and Dinesh (35), and Constables Vikram (34), Deepak (38), Rampal (30), Sandeep (30) and Raviranjan (26).
Police said all the personnel were immediately rushed to AIIMS for treatment, adding that their condition was stable.
