Nine killed, including 3 children, in fire at multi-storey building in Delhi's Palam

Nine members of a family, including a 70-year-old woman and three of her granddaughters, one just three years old, were killed after a massive fire broke out in a residential building in the Palam area of the national capital, said Delhi police on Wednesday.

A fire fighting and rescue operations were launched by Delhi Fire Services (DFS), immediately after receiving the information of the incident, around 30 fire brigades of the Delhi Fire Service arrived at the spot and are currently engaged in dousing the blaze.

According to officials, three others were injured, two of them jumped from the building at Ram Chowk Market near Palam Metro Station in a desperate attempt to escape the flames.

"Information was received about a fire in a residential unit, and we feared some people might be trapped inside. Rescue operations were launched immediately," a DFS officer said, PTI reported.

Police and other emergency services have cordoned off the area to facilitate the firefighting operation.

According to DFS the building had a basement and five floors, with a temporary tin shed on the roof. The basement, ground and first floors were being used for storage of clothes and cosmetics, while the second and third floors were residential units.

Neighbours said the fire initially started on the first floor but spread quickly, possibly due to the presence of perfumes and other beauty products in the shop that are highly flammable.

Rajender, the local market association president, lived in the building with his wife, their five sons, a daughter, four daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren.

At the time of the incident, several family members were not present in the house. Kashyap was in Goa, while one of his sons and his family were away on a holiday, officials said.

Rajender's wife Lado (70), her sons Pravesh (33) and Kamal (39), Kamal’s wife Ashu (35) and their three daughters aged 15, six and three were killed in the blaze.

Lado’s daughter, Himanshi (22), and daughter-in-law, Deepika (28), also died in the fire, police said.

Anil (32), son of Rajender and Lado, dropped his two-year-old daughter from the third floor while trying to lower her onto the second floor where there was access to a ladder. Soon, he too jumped. Both sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment, officials said.

Sachin (29), who jumped to an adjacent building to save himself, also sustained injuries and is being treated for around 25 per cent burn injuries at Safdarjung Hospital.

Around 30 fire tenders and 11 ambulances were pressed into service, along with personnel from the police, BSES, Air Force police and the NDRF, as part of a massive firefighting and rescue operation.

The fire was doused around 2.20 pm and a cooling operation began after that.

The area was cordoned off and a forensic team was called to inspect the spot. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, police said.

(With PTI Inputs)