With the death of a 38-year-old woman who jumped off the second floor of the burning building to save her life, the death count in the Sunlight Colony Fire incident touched four on Tuesday. Mithilesh Gupta, jumped to save her life as there was no other escape route in the house. Locals blamed the residents of the terrace room for locking the door, which could have served as an open area. Also, given the fact that there is an adjacent identical building with a joint terrace, people could have easily crossed over and found an alternative escape route.
But, such was the intensity of the fire that the damage was not limited to the house as fireballs burnt passersby on the road below and also those living in the vicinity of the Bhagwan Nagar building.
“Six of my family members including me suffered burn injuries. My wife heard some noise after which my family members ran towards the balcony to see what happened. As soon as she opened the door, my family was hit by the house fire,” said Yogesh Jain.
Mr. Jain and others also complained about the poor facilities available in Safdarjung Hospital to the Jangpura MLA Praveen Kumar who had come to pay the victims a visit and was earlier active in the rescue efforts. “No burn cream was available and even the ambulance took Rs. 1500 from my relatives,” said Mr. Jain. Mr. Kumar added he had to call some of the Delhi Ministers to get the facilities arranged for Mr. Jain and others. According to latest reports, nearly eight persons were receiving treatment till Tuesday night.
