A tragic fire accident in a multi-storey building in a congested area located at the Palam area of Delhi on Wednesday, March 18th claimed 9 lives as people could not get out in time due to lack of escape route options. The fire broke out in the four-storey structure located near the Palam metro station. Nine members of one family, including a 70-year-old woman and three girls, one of whom was just three years old, lost their lives, while three people were injured while attempting to escape. It was found that that many of them died due to suffocation as there were no injury marks on their bodies. According to locals, the building housed commercial establishments, including a cloth and cosmetics business, on the lower floors, while the family lived on the upper levels. Kashyap, a family member who was away in Goa when the incident took place, spoke to the press saying, “Sirf system ka failure hai, nahi to mera parivar aaj basa reh jata” (It’s the result of a systemic failure. Otherwise, my family would still be alive).

Locals alleged lapses in the rescue operations took the tragic toll of lives. Several of them claimed that critical equipment had failed to function at the crucial moment, forcing a delayed replacement. They believe that had the equipment worked in time, some lives might have been saved. They also raised concerns over the absence of safety measures at the site. Ramesh Soni, whose nephew owns a jewellery shop next to the building that caught fire on Wednesday, told newsmen that in a last-ditch attempt to save themselves, the family members rushed to the upper floors and apparently, opened bathroom taps, hoping to escape the blaze. "The bodies were brought down in front of us. Most of them died due to suffocation. There were barely any visible injuries," Soni said.